Alien Ambush
by RAMSPEL
Summary: When Kara is seriously injured in an alien ambush, her friends and family try to find a way to save the hero's life.
1. Chapter 1

_Author's Notes: I began this story in late spring and planned to post it around midsummer, but it ended up taking much longer than I expected and being twice as long as I expected. This is my first time writing (and finishing) such a long multi-chapter story. I didn't want to begin to post it until I was almost completely finished. The story has ten chapters and I plan to post a chapter every day until the season premiere. Here's the first chapter, I hope you like it._

* * *

Kara was hard at work when a knock on her new office door pulled her mind away from the research she'd been doing for her next article. Out of habit, the alien pulled her glasses down slightly and used her x-ray vision to see who was at her door. Linda Lee, Cat Grant's new assistant stood on the other side of the door looking nervous as usual.

"Come in." Kara called.

The young woman opened the door and stepped into the small office.

"Hi Linda, what can I do for you?" Kara asked.

Even since Linda had been hired to fill the open assistant job when Kara had been promoted, Kara had taken the young woman under her wing and had done everything in her power to make the transition as smooth as possible.

"Hey Kara, Ms. Grant would like to see you—I think."

"What do you mean you think?"

"Well, she didn't ask to see you exactly. She said to 'Get Kiera in here, now!' Actually, she kind of yelled at me to do it. Does she mean you or is there a Kiera that works here too?"

"No, she means me." Kara replied, sighing and standing up.

"Okay good." Linda relaxed a little now that she knew she wasn't about to get yelled at for not following orders promptly enough. "I've never heard her get your name wrong. I thought you were one of the few employees whose names she knew."

"She knows my name, but she only just started using it correctly when I got promoted. But if she calling me 'Kiera' again then it means she's mad at me and this is not going to be a fun meeting."

"Oh." Linda looked at Kara empathetically. Even since getting hired Linda had become all too familiar with what it was like to be on Cat Grant's bad side. "Good luck."

"Thanks," Kara said as she walked towards her boss' office.

...

Many miles away, at a government facility that couldn't be found on any map, Alex was taking advantage of the rare lull in alien activity to get some sparring practice with J'onn. She'd had just dodged a punch and had used his momentum to flip the Martian. She moved in to kick the alien (knowing no matter how hard she attacked, she'd didn't have to worry about really hurting J'onn), but he was too fast for and grabbed her foot and pulled her to the ground. When her back hit the ground the air was forced from her lungs and before she could even gasp, J'onn had his arm around her throat.

"You left yourself open." J'onn said right before he released her neck and helped her up.

Even though J'onn's grasp hadn't been tight enough to hurt her, she still took several big gulps of air before responding.

"And you said you weren't going to use your powers."

J'onn was only able to grab her foot and get the upper hand because he used his super speed.

"I lied." He said casually. "In the field, you can't leave yourself open even if you think you have the upper hand because sometimes our intelligence is going to be wrong and an alien might have a power you don't expect. You have to be ready for anything and never let your guard down."

"I'll remember that. Want to go again?" Alex asked eager to show she was not going to make that mistake again."

"Don't you think you've had enough for one day?" J'onn asked shifting out of trainer mode and into surrogate father mode.

"I'm fine, but I understand if you need a break. After all, you are well over three hundred years old and you might be getting too old for all of this."

J'onn glared at Alex. "You're going to pay for that Danvers."

Before they could resume sparring, Vasquez came in.

"Sir, Major Lane needs to see you."

J'onn and Alex both followed Vasquez to the control room where Lucy and a few techs were starting at a monitor.

"What do we have?" J'onn asked.

"So far we're not sure." Lucy answered. "We intercepted a few nine-one-one calls mentioning a large gray man walking through Siegel Park, but so far none of our scans are picking up anything."

J'onn nodded not feeling relieved. The DEO constantly scanned various parts of the city for subtle changes in radiation, electromagnetic energy, temperature, and about a hundred other indicators of an extraterrestrial's presence, but he knew better than anyone that the process wasn't foolproof, especially since neither he nor Kara had ever set off the scans.

"It could be an alien, or a metahuman, or just some random nerd on his way to a cosplay convention." Lucy continued. When she caught Owens and Suresh, two of the techs, staring at her looking offended, she added. "Not that participating in cosplay automatically makes you a nerd." Then turning her attention back to J'onn she said. "We're pulling satellite and traffic footage from all over the park now to try to get a clear picture of this thing."

After a few seconds, Suresh said. "Got it."

Everyone turned to look at his monitor where a clear picture of what was definitely not a cosplay enthusiasts appeared on the screen.

"Lurmocronian," J'onn said, recognizing the nine-foot tall creature covered in tough gray wrinkled skin, which had three horns growing out its forehead.

"I thought we captured the only Lurmocronian that escaped from Fort Rozz." Alex asked.

"The Kryptonians must have left one off of the official record." Said Vasquez

"Where is the closest team?" Lucy asked.

"Fisher and his team are on a training mission about twenty minutes out." Owens told her.

"They're still too far to get to that thing before it starts hurting innocent civilians." J'onn said. And even if they weren't sending in a strike team into the middle of a crowded park wasn't the best way to maintain a low profile. "Looks like we're going to have to call Supergirl in on this one."

He glanced at Alex waiting for her to call her sister, but she seemed more interested in staring at the footage. J'onn didn't need to read Alex's mind to see she was concerned and he trusted her instincts too much to disregard it.

"Something wrong Agent Danvers?" J'onn asked.

"I feel like we're missing something. What does the Lurmocronian have to gain by terrorizing a park?"

"Ever since Supergirl defeat Non, a lot of the escapees have become bolder. Maybe this one is trying to assert itself as a new leader by challenging us." Lucy suggested.

"Maybe." J'onn said. "Divert Fisher's team to the park, but tell them not to engage until I give the order. Until then they're to let Supergirl handle it."

It made Alex feel a little better to know her sister would have backup heading her way, but Alex still felt worried as she pressed her sister's speed dial and waited for her to pick up. _What am I missing?_

...

"Good afternoon, Ms. Grant." Kara began, trying to defuse her boss' bad mood with her own cheery disposition, but as soon as she began talking Cat held up a finger and cut her off without ever looking up from the document in front of her. Kara waited another minute for her employer to finish reading, her tension building as she awkwardly just stood there.

"Sit." Cat ordered when she finished the article.

Kara did as she was told. "You wanted to see me?"

"No."

"You didn't send Linda to come get me?" Kara asked, confused.

"No, that part is true. But 'want' is not the word I would use. 'Want' sends the wrong message. It implies this is a social visit, that I should find this meeting enjoyable, and that it is not a hassle for me to devote time from my already hectic schedule to address your subpart work."

"I take it you did not like the article I submitted."

Ever since Kara had been promoted she had been writing a weekly article for the Catco website about ordinary people whose lives had been turned upside down by alien and metahuman encounters. It was nothing fancy and the more seasoned reporters still handled the more high profile alien and metahuman stories, but Kara loved it. Not only did it give her a chance to call attention to people whose stories would often be ignored or forgotten, but it also provided her a plausible excuse to run out every time Supergirl was needed.

"Stating the obvious, with that spot on reporting it's amazing that I didn't promote you sooner. Kiera do you remember what I said to you when you suggest you start writing about people who've had encounters with aliens?"

"Congratulations I've given you a little bit of rope and you're managing to hang yourself with it." The words still stung as Kara repeated them.

That part was true, but it wasn't the point Cat was getting at. "I told you I would not have Catco's credibility sullied by publishing stories that belong in the _National City Inquirer._ "

"But everyone knows that aliens exist and that some of them have made Earth their home." Kara said rehashing the same argument she'd used to convince Cat to let her cover the subject.

"And I told you that even if people are used to the idea of aliens walking amongst us, without evidence they are still going to be reluctant to believe every lunatic who claims to have encountered them."

"Al Binder is not some lunatic he's a respected member of the community."

"No, he _was_ a respected member of the community. Now he's the prime suspect in a robbery."

Up until two weeks ago, Al Binder had been a security guard at Agritech, an agricultural research facility. Then an alien with the ability to walk through walls had broken in and eaten the company's entire supply extra vitamin infused wheat. When Al had tried to stop the alien, it had tried to kill him, but luckily for Al, Supergirl had shown up and fought the creature off.

Instead of being rewarded for his valiant efforts to save company products, Al had been accused of making up the story about the alien and stealing the wheat himself to sell to their competitors. Agritech had been unable to convince the local authorities to arrest Al, but he'd still lost his job and his pension.

"Agritech only fired him to cover-up the fact that they were using Benodroxide to make their wheat grow so big, which was probably what lured the alien to the facility."

"None of which you can actually prove. This entire article is based on the word of a disgruntled employee. Up until now, I've indulged your idea to cover such an outlandish subject matter, mostly because despite my concerns your work has been adequate and people have responded favorably to your little stories, but I will not risk Catco's reputation just because you believe this guy."

Kara wanted to yell that she didn't just believe the guy, she knew he was telling the truth. And as far as proof she had captured the alien that had done the break in, not that it did her any good. He was currently in a DEO cell and all the files about him were classified.

"What if I could get Supergirl to go on the record and corroborate Al's story?"

Cat gave Kara a hard look. "How are you do plan to get her to do that?"

"I could get James to set up a meeting and I know Supergirl would be willing to tell her side of things to prove a man's innocence."

Kara had known all along that Cat would have a problem with the lack of proof in her article and wanted to back up his claim by having Supergirl confirm his story, but when she'd run the idea by Alex her sister had been dead set against the idea, saying she didn't want anyone to associate name Kara Danvers with Supergirl.

"Even if you do get Supergirl to go on the record, why do think anyone would believe you actually spoke to her. You're just a junior reporter. Bigger names than yours have tried and failed to interview her. I'm the only member of the media that's ever spoken to her."

"Which is why people will believe me. People know I used to be your assistant and I have a connection to Supergirl."

Cat pondered Kara's suggestion for a second. "Having Supergirl go on the record would definitely validate this man's story. It would also attract tons of readers, but it would also bring your name into a public light which as a writer I'm not sure you're ready for. I've been treating you with kid gloves so far, but with all the attention you're bound…"

Kara had stopped listening to Cat's speech. With her super hearing she picked up the sound of her phone vibrating against her desk and realized she was so nervous earlier she forgot to bring it with her. Chances were it was probably nothing, or it could be Alex or the DEO needing Supergirl.

"Kiera!" Cat yelled. "Are you even listening to me?"

"Yes, of course, Ms. Grant. I just remembered I…" Kara began trying to come up an excuse that would get her out of Cat's office without losing her job in the process.

Before she could finish both women heard someone at the door.

"Cat!" Joe Carter, the metro department head, came barging in. One look at his face told Cat that news was breaking and made her forgo any rant she'd normally have against someone interrupted her.

"What is is?" She demanded.

"I just got a tip from my source at the NCPD that they've been having calls come in about an alien terrorizing Siegel Park. Now it could turn out to be a hoax, or—"

"Or it could be another attack."

The implications of that statement gave Cat a terrible sense of dread. Schools had just started letting out about an hour ago. This time of day that park would be teeming with unsuspecting children and their families. Out of reflex, Cat's eyes immediately went to Kara, but the place where she'd been sitting just a second ago was now empty. A faint smile spread on Cat's face.

Joe followed her gazed and his eyes narrowed. "Wasn't Kara just—"

"Are you seriously asking about Kara right now?! Have the Catcopter on the scene in the next five minutes or you can spend tomorrow polishing up your resume." Cat yelled, knowing things were about to get interesting.

...

Less than a minute after Alex reached Kara's voice mail, her sister called her back.

She heard the sound of wind blowing in the background and knew Supergirl was on her way. "Hey sorry I didn't answer I was in the middle of Cat verbally shredding my article and I didn't know if this was a Supergirl call or a regular call. We really need to come up some sort of special ringtone for these situations."

"That's an idea that we can discuss when you're _not_ about to take on a dangerous alien."

"That severely limits our options to work and T.V. time, but ok. I know there's an alien in the park, but that's it. What intel do you have on it?"

"It's a Lurmocronian. Basically, they're very big, strong, and mean."

"So basically it's just like the vast majority Fort Rozz escapes. Doesn't sound like too much of a threat."

"No, in a way it seems too easy. Lurmocronians are strong, but they're still no match for you and yet this one decided to walk around a crowded park when it has to know you'll show up. There's a team about ten minutes away, maybe you should wait until you have backup. So far all it's doing is yelling and scaring people, but it's not causing any real damage."

"I'm not going to risk letting this thing start hurting people while I'm playing it safe. I can handle it myself. Besides," Alex saw her sister appear on the monitor as she landing right in front of the Lurmocronian. "I'm here."

"Supergirl." The big alien said.

"Hey, now I know you can't help the way you look and I'm not judging. I'm sure we look pretty strange to you too. But right now what you're doing walking around growling at everyone is scaring people."

"I will destroy you!" It yelled.

Instead of being intimidated, Kara burst into laughter. "Sorry I mean no disrespect, it's just hard to take you seriously when you're being so intense. And also, come on, you've just met me and already you've decided you want to destroy me."

"You can thank your mother for that."

Kara sighed. "Again, man you guys really know how to hold a grudge."

The Lurmocromian lunged at Kara, but she flew out of the way causing the alien to fall hard on the place she'd been standing.

"Now later when you're writhing in pain, don't forget I tried to talk things out."

The Lurmocronian quickly got to his feet and charged Kara again. This time, she didn't dodge the attack but met it with a rough punch to the face.

"Sure, you don't want to consider?" Kara asked.

The Lurmocronian punching Kara in the stomach, which didn't phase her but seemed to hurt his arm.

"Okay."

Kara flew up landed a quick kick to the alien's chest sending it flying. It hit the side of a basketball goal several feet away and fell to the ground. She then flew oven to it and punched it a couple of more times to assure it was done attacking. Satisfied she pulled the now bent basketball goal and post from its concrete foundation. Kara then proceeded to rip the goal and backboard off and bent the post around the arms and midsection of the Lurmocronian.

"Make sure you have a cell ready." She told the DEO.

Supergirl grabbed the alien by the arm and prepared to fly off with it, but she stopped when she heard a small cry. Two children, a boy who looked about four and a girl that looked about six, came running towards her. Alex guessed from the resemblance they shared that they were brother and sister.

"Please don't leave us!" The boy cried.

"We can't find our mommy and daddy and we're scared." His sister added.

"It okay." Kara said in a soothing voice, crouching down beside the children. "I'll help you find them."

The boy smiled at Kara which sent a chill through Alex. His was not the smile of a child who was relieved that someone had come to their rescue. No, this smile was menacing and the angelic features used to display it only made it all the more disturbing. The uneasiness Alex had been feeling earlier had now turned into a full-blown panic.

Kara must have sensed something was wrong too. She quickly backed away from the child. Then there was a flash of movement and Alex watched sister flinch in pain. The boy had somehow grown a tail, which the end of was sticking out of Kara's arm just under her shoulder.

The girl who also now had a tail and tried to strike Kara. This time, the Kryptonian was ready and grab the girls tail before it could penetrate her skin. She then swung the creature around by its tail sending it flying. Kara turned to the boy and tried to grab him, but he hit her with enough force to throw her several feet where she fell onto the blacktop of the basketball court.

Two creatures that seemed to be made of red light in the shape of humans appeared one each side of Kara. Alex knew instantly they were Zarolots, interdimensional beings composed of pure sentient energy. Zarolots had the ability to steal energy from any living creature they touched. They also could use their energy to inflict horrible pain on their victims. One of Alex's first missions when she joined the DEO had been to capture one of them. Two of her fellow agents had been killed in that mission.

The Zarolots grabbed (if you could even call it that since they didn't have a physical form) Kara's arms causing her to cry out in pain.

Meanwhile the boy, the girl, and the Lurmocronian—which had broken free of its makeshift restraints—had all transformed into some sort of yellow insect-like creatures. Each had six legs, in addition to a pair of pincers, a pair of wings, and a long tail with a barbed stinger at the end. Once they had fully transform they descended on Supergirl.

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Thanks for reading, the next chapter will be up sometime tomorrow._


	2. Chapter 2

_Author's Notes: Thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, and followed this story. It means a lot to me to know people are enjoying it._

 _Also, the Layuruses mentioned below are pronounced lay-oo-rus-es. I know the name is kind of a mouthful, but I didn't make it up. I actually named the aliens after a genus of scorpions known as Deathstalkers, which I came across in my research for this story._

* * *

As Kara lay on the ground wounded and surrounded by enemies a thought occurred to her. _Alex is going to say 'I told you so.'_ Sure she wouldn't say in those exact words, instead, she'd give her little sister a lecture about plowing headfirst into danger with so little intel and that Kara should have listened to her advice to stay cautious, but the tone would be the same. Of course, that would only happen if she survived this experience, and once she assessed her current predicament, she admitted was that not a guarantee.

The glowing-light-aliens (whose name she could not remember) held her by the arms. When they'd touched her pain radiated through her body and drained her strength. Still the pain they caused her was manageable and nothing compared to the pain from the Layurus sting.

Back on Krypton, Layuruses, the shape-shifting aliens that had attacked her, had been known for having the third deadliest venom in the universe. It was the result of centuries of the aliens altering their own genes to make themselves all the more lethal.

She remembered that a single sting from a Layurus was supposed to have been able to stop a Kryptonian's heart in seconds. But that was on her home planet under the rays of their red sun. Kara didn't know how the venom would affect her under the yellow sun, but even with her enhanced healing, it was clear that it could still harm her.

"I'm on my way!" J'onn said of her comms system.

In the background, she could hear Alex telling J'onn to take her with him, but he must not have listened because the next thing she heard was Alex yelling at someone to get a helicopter ready.

"No." Kara moaned hoping her sister would listen. This was no place for a human, even one as highly skilled as Alex.

Lucy's voice came over the speaker, but from the way spoke it was clear she was talking to Alex. "You'll never even get there in time, J'onn has the best chance to save her and Kara needs you here. She needs to know how to fight these things."

While they were talking the Layuruses had reached Kara and were looking down at her.

"Shall I help you find your parents now?" The one that used to be the boy said.

Kara glared at him for a second, but then she regained control of her emotions. He was trying to upset her so she'd be off her game for a fight.

She tried to feign the same confidence she'd felt when she'd thought she was only dealing with a Lurmocronian. "What's the problem, you're afraid to fight me one-on-one so you had to invite your friends?"

Layuruses were known for priding themselves on being fierce, but if her words bothered him he didn't show it. He actually seemed amused.

"Hubris was your mother's downfall as well."

 _And it'll hopefully be yours._ Kara thought. If she had met him one-on-one she knew she could defeat him, even with his potent venom, but she could not take on three of them by herself especially with the glow-men helping out.

Still, she knew she could get away if she used her super speed, even the ones that could teleport couldn't follow her if they didn't know where she was going. The only problem was if she did, she'd have no way to stop them from hurting innocent people. Even though her arms hurt and she felt weak, it wasn't as bad as she wanted them to believe. If she could keep them busy until J'onn and Fisher's team arrived she might have a shot.

"Alura had many enemies, who am I to deny them their vengeance." He continued.

"So I take it enjoying your freedom and moving on with your lives never crossed any of your minds."

"This is how we enjoy our freedom."

The Layurus moved to sting Kara in the heart, but while he took aim she used her freeze breath and sent him flying into a pile of trees. Before the others could strike she manage to pull her arms free from glowing aliens, once she was free of their touch she felt her strength return and used it punch the second Layurus and kick the third. Having a brief respite from the attacks Kara shot up in the air. In an instant, she'd added fifty feet between her and her enemies.

Once she was satisfied with the distance she stopped and shouted at them. "When you were discussing this idea to ambush me amongst yourselves, did you ever consider five of you might not be enough or was letting get away part of the plan?"

"Kara get out of there!" Alex ordered over the comms, but Kara didn't respond.

If she flew away she knew the Layuruses would just start hurting innocent people to lure her back.

She watched the Layuruses take off into the air while the glowing aliens disappeared. Kara braced herself for another attack. A second later the glowing aliens appeared by her side and touched her head. She cried out from the sudden pain and tried to strike one with a quick blast of heat vision which didn't seem to affect it. Then she tried to kick the other, only to have her leg riddled with pain as it when it effortlessly passed through the alien's form.

"Use your freeze breath." Alex's voice filled her ear again.

Kara did as she was instructed and to her relief, the two creatures shrunk back and floated in the air like the were paralyzed.

Unfortunately, Kara didn't have long to enjoy her small victory because by then the Layuruses had reached her. The first to reach her soared towards her its tail outstretched. She easily avoided it and sent it flying with a quick punch, but while she was busy with that one she nearly missed the second one whip its tail in her direction.

She caught sight of it in her peripheral vision and dodge the strike. Her quick action saved her from getting stabbed in the stomach, but still, she responded too late and the barb grazed her side as it sliced through the air. She grabbed its tail before it could try a second time and threw it into the third Layurus which had just caught up to its friends. Both went into a freefall but managed to get control of themselves before they crashed into the street.

Alex came over the comms again, her words were rushed and ran together as she struggled to give her sister all the information she had before Kara faced another attack. "The shape-shifting aliens are Layuruses their venom…"

"Can kill just about anything, I know." Kara said through gritted teeth as she held her side. "Tell me about the glowing things."

The venom already in her system was starting to take effect. Her vision blurred, her hands started to tremble, and every breath seemed harder to take.

The first Layurus relaunched itself at Kara, but she knocked him back with a well-placed kick

"They're Zarolots, they're made of pure energy and are basically intangible. Watch out!" But Kara had already seen the threat. While Alex had been talking one of the two Layuruses she'd sent into a freefall reached her and the other was closing in. She tried to punch it, but with her blurry vision she missed. It grabbed her neck with his pincer and prepared to strike, but she managed to grab the tail in its downward arc and hold it back. Kara then gave the Layurus a small blast of her heat vision. The tough exoskeleton of the alien was scorched. It cried out in pain and loosened it's grip enough for her to wiggle free. She then punched it and knocked it to the ground.

"How do I fight the Zarolots?" She asked. "Your freeze breath can incapacitate them, but only temporarily. You heat vision might can hurt them if you can reach temperatures—"

Before Alex could finish the third Layurus reached Kara. She charged it, but she was now getting so weak she wasn't able to hit as hard it as she intended. It took advantage of her mistake and tried to strike her in the heart. She flew up to avoid the sting, but the barb had found its way into her thigh.

Kara cried out in pain. Her body started to go limp. She punched the alien, but in her weakened state, there was little force behind the blow. The Layurus didn't seem phased and returned a punch of his own that sent her flying towards a news helicopter.

Kara nearly crashed into the cockpit of the Catcopter. At the last second, she managed to swerve enough that she avoided the cockpit, but not enough to keep her from hitting the main rotor. The rotor shattered when it made impact with Kara and a sharp pain fill her side where it struck her.

The Catcopter was knocked off course and she started falling. Kara felt herself rushing towards the ground, but she was in so much pain and too weak to make her body do anything about it until the sound of screaming broke into her consciousness and brought her mind back into her surroundings. She took a quick assessment of what was happening around her.

The broken helicopter was about to crash into the side of a skyscraper, while people in the building were scrambling to get out of the trajectory. Kara pushed the pain and weakness to the back of her mind and soared over to the Catcopter and caught it by the tail seconds before it would have hit the building.

While she was busy with the helicopter, one of the Layurus had seized the opportunity to take advantage of her distraction. It made a beeline towards her. Kara ripped off the tail rotor which was no longer doing the aircraft any good and threw it at her attacker. To her horror the projectile not only found its mark, it penetrated the hard exoskeleton of the creature and finally came to a stop after it struck his heart. The Layurus jerked back from the impact, then it dropped to the ground.

Before Kara could think about what she did, the Zarolots had recovered and teleported next to Kara. She used her freeze breath like before on one of them, but before she could blast the second it pushed its hand into her chest. Pain filled her lungs. She tried to take a breath, but the muscles surrounding her lungs couldn't obey her command. Her grip on the tail of the helicopter loosened and she felt the tail slip from her fingers.

Knowing she only had seconds before it crashed into the ground and unable to use her freeze breath, Kara focused all the strength she had into her heat vision and aimed for the Zarolot. At first, it didn't have any effect just like before and the beam when right through the creature into a nearby building; then a sharp mechanical-sounding screech erupted from the alien, followed by a blinding burst of light. When Kara regained her vision it was gone.

She dove for the helicopter and caught it a second time. This time, she was able to set it down gently on the roof of one of the smaller skyscrapers.

Now that its occupants were out of danger, the pain and weakness that she'd pushed to the back of her brain returned bringing with it a sense of horror as she realized what she'd done.

There was no sign of the Zarolot she'd hit with her heat vision and the implication of that dawned on Kara. About twenty feet below her the Layurus that she hit with the rotor lay motionless on the ground. Scanning it with her x-ray vision, she searched for any sign of life when Alex's voice pulled her back into focus.

"Kara, look out!"

For a brief second she'd been so focused on the enemies she's killed, she forgot about the ones that remained, but that short amount of time was all they needed to gain the advantage. Kara looked up to see the two remaining Layuruses closing in on her. She managed to knock one off course, but the other was too quick. He grabbed her arm with his pincer and plunged his stinger right into her heart.

Pain worse than anything she'd ever felt before flooded her heart and worked its way through her body until every part of her was in agony. It was all she could process. She did not even notice when the Layurus let her go and she started falling to the ground. By the time her body made impact with the concrete ten stories below everything had already gone black.

...

"No!" Alex screamed at the DEO monitor.

Next to her Lucy gasped and Vasques balled up her fist so tight her knuckles were turning white.

Even though it had been her sister who'd just been stabbed in the chest, Alex felt an aching form in her own heart. She watched helplessly as her sister fell to the ground below leaving a huge crater in the street.

The two Layuruses observed her for a second then dove down eager to finish her off. Alex couldn't breathe. Every muscle was tense as if her body was begging her to do something, to fight, to somehow save Kara, but there was nothing she could do, not while she was dozens of miles away stuck at the DEO. She was powerless to do anything but watch the aliens kill her little sister.

Right as they began their descent on her, something green streaked across the screen. It right went through one of the attacking Layurus causing the creature to lose control and fall to the ground. The streak came to a stop right in front of Kara. Once it stopped moving and slowed down everyone at the DEO could see who it was.

"J'onn." Lucy sighed.

The Martian positioned himself right in front of Kara and braced himself for the Layurus. He had a fierce look on his face that Alex had only seen once before when he'd faced a White Martian.

The Layurus was not intimidated and continued his downward flight, stinger ready. Alex felt herself tense up even more than she already was. If a Layurus' venom could hurt a Kryptonian, what would it do to a Martian?

The fight happened so quickly Alex didn't even register it until it was over. One second she was watching the Layurus crash into J'onn, then a flash of movement too swift for her eyes to distinguish what was happening, and finally she saw J'onn standing over the Layurus, the alien's own tail was sticking out of its abdomen.

The final Layurus sprang up from where it had fallen and flew at J'onn, who wasted no time picking up a piece of concrete the size of a boulder from the crater Kara had created and threw at the attacker. The concrete struck the alien right in the head and it fell to the ground.

Seeing as there were no more Layuruses to attack, J'onn turned his attention to remaining Zarolot. The creatures had been floating in the air since Kara had hit it a second time with her freeze breath. The light it cast still looking dull compared to how bright it had been when the alien had first appeared. Two bright pinpoints of light in the midst what passed for its head focused on the Martian and Supergirl for a moment. Then it disappeared.

J'onn surveyed the scene for a moment. Alex knew he must be using his advanced Martian senses to detect the alien. Then he turned back to Kara. He looked her over, before gently taking her in his arms.

"She's not breathing!" He said over the comms. "Get a trauma unit and a surgical team ready now!" Then he launched himself into the sky with the limp form of Supergirl cradled in his arms.

* * *

 _Author's Note: Sorry to end this on a cliffhanger, but at least you don't have to wait too long._


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story. One of the reasons it took me so long to write was all the research I had to do on venom, medicine, and lots of subjects that deal with science. I did my best to educate myself on these topics so I could write a semi-believable story, but those of you reading this who have more knowledge on these subjects than I do will still probably notice a bunch of factual mistakes I've made. I hope you can forgive me for these errors and still be willing to suspend your disbelief (but honestly if you're a fan of superhero stories you should be used to ignoring blatant factual and scientific errors).

* * *

The bullpen of Catco was strangely quiet considering the gravity of the news currently breaking. Except for a few people running around coordinating feeds, most people were staring in shock at the footage of Supergirl fighting the aliens. Even the Queen of all Media seemed more concerned with watching the news than reporting it.

The quiet continued even after the green alien flew off with Supergirl cradled in his arms. Finally, Linda voiced the question that was on everyone's mind. "Is Supergirl dead?!"

Cat whipped her head around and glared at her assistant who shrank back under her boss' look. "Don't be ridiculous, Lindsey! Supergirl can't be killed that easily!"

"Cat, you saw the footage. She was already weak when that thing struck her in the heart. She was covered in blood when the green alien flew off with her. I didn't even know she could bleed." Bill, one of the more experienced reporters who was less afraid of dealing with Cat's temper, argued.

"I've also seen her get electrocuted, only to get up and fly off a few minutes later like nothing had happened. Now, until I've heard confirmation, I'm not going to jump to conclusions about Supergirl's condition, and neither will anyone at this company. The public is already going to be scared and we are not going to play on those fears with useless speculation."

After Cat finished her speech, all of her employees suddenly remembered they had jobs to do and busied themselves with various tasks, or at least they tried to look busy in front of Cat.

Winn, however, remained motionless. He couldn't care less at the moment what his boss thought of him, not when he might have just watched his best friend get murdered. He stood there not know what to do, then he saw James running towards his offices with his phone to his ear and without thinking he followed the photographer.

After he entered James punched a button on his phone a mutter an expletive that Winn rarely heard his friend use.

"Kara's phone went right to voicemail and Alex and J'onn aren't picking up." James explained. "I'm trying Lucy now."

When James' ex-girlfriend, the current Assistant Director of the DEO, didn't answer, James tried the Man of Steel himself. Superman had just heard about the fight himself but didn't know anything about Kara's condition. He told them he was sure that J'onn had taken Kara back to the DEO and that he was flying there right then.

"We'll meet you there." James said as he hung up.

Both men turned to leave but were stop by Cat Grant who was right outside the door to James' office. She opened the door and walked in without waiting for an invite.

"What do you know about Supergirl?" She demanded.

"No more than you." James answered.

"Don't play games with me, I'm not in the mood, and I know you have her on speed dial!"

"I should get going." Winn muttered.

The way Cat was focused on James, he wasn't even sure she noticed he was in the room, but before he made it out the door she stopped him. "Get back here, Toyman Junior, don't pretend to be ignorant in all of this."

"Look Cat, we really don't know anything yet." James said. "None of my contacts are answering their phones and even Superman doesn't know anything yet. The green alien is a friend and there is a facility where he'll take her to get medical attention. We're about to head there now to try to find out something."

"I want you to let me know the minute you know something." When James looked like he was about to argue Cat added. "Look you don't have to go on the record with anything, but I need to know whether or not Supergirl is going to be okay."

For a moment, the tough boss demeanor that Winn was accustomed to disappeared and he could see that she was just as worried about Supergirl as they were.

"You can't report on anything I tell you, but I'll give you a call when I find out something."

"Thank you."

...

"Dave, could you hand me the iodine?" Eliza Danvers asked her lab assistant.

The young doctoral student went to the cabinet where the chemicals were kept. After searching for a second he said, "We must be out. I'll ask Dr. Collins if we can borrow some of theirs."

While she waited, she jotted down a few notes. Her phone made a familiar whistling sound indicating she'd just received a news alert.

Eliza had programmed her phone to notify her every time Supergirl was in the news. She ran her finger across the screen, curious what her daughter had been up to. But instead of seeing a story about Kara saving innocent people the headline she read made her heart stop.

The article from the Daily Planet's website began with the headline _Supergirl Attacked by Gang of Aliens, Feared Dead._ Eliza didn't even open the article; instead, she hit the phone icon and pressed Kara's speed dial.

The phone went right to Kara's voicemail.

"Dr. Danvers, are you okay?" Dave asked when he returned.

Eliza ended the call and grabbed her purse. "No, I have to go." She told Dave and walked right passed him.

"Dr. Danvers? Dr. Danvers?" Dave called after her, but she ignored him. She pressed Alex's speed dial while rushing to her car.

"Pick up, pick up!'' She pleaded when she heard ringing on her end.

...

It took forever for J'onn to return to the DEO with Kara—or at least that's what it felt like to Alex. Really it must have barely taken a few minutes because he arrived back at the DEO before the trauma and surgical teams had even finish prepping.

J'onn carried Kara followed by Alex into the med bay. For a moment their eyes met; though his expression was hard and stoic she could see the sadness and fear behind them.

Seeing the fight and Kara's injuries through the satellite and news footage had done little to prepare Alex. Although the images she had seen had been horrible and worrisome on their own, they'd paled in comparison to the horror of seeing Kara up close.

If hadn't been for the Supergirl suit, Alex might not have recognized her sister. Her blond hair had taken on a rusty brown hue, from all the blood matted in it; her body was swollen and covered in bruises; the emblem of the House of El had the end of a stinger sticking out of it and blood pooled around the symbol.

 _She's not going to make it!_ The horrible thought entered Alex's head and was immediately shoved out. Kara was going to live, she had to! Alex refused to consider a scenario where she didn't.

Still, the scientist in her wasn't convinced. That part of her brain wasn't influenced by emotions, it only saw facts and the facts were telling her that not even a Kryptonian's body could recover from that type of damage.

J'onn laid her down on a table in front of Doctor Hamilton who had just been informed of Kara's attack. "She has multiple broken bones; internal bleeding in her liver, kidneys, spleen, and heart; and her airway is filling with fluid."

Hamilton didn't ask how J'onn knew the specifics of Kara's injuries, she knew he had x-ray vision similar to Kara's and trusted his assessment of her injuries. "We need to intubate." Hamilton said.

She inserted a tube down Kara trachea, while another doctor hooked Kara up to a heart monitor. Kara pulse came over the monitor. It was weak, but there.

Alex stood in the corner of the room watching the green line slowly move up and down, reminding herself that as long as that line continued to move that all hope was not yet lost. It took all her effort not to run over to Kara and wrap her arms around the alien like she used to do when they were younger and Kara was scared. She wanted more than anything to hug her sister and tell her she'd be okay, but she forced herself to stay back and allowed the doctors room to help her sister.

After the trauma team finished their initial workup, Kara was taken to surgery. Alex moved to follow her, but J'onn grabbed her arm.

"Alex, you can't go with her."

His grip was gentle, yet firm like he expected her to try to wiggle free. And for a second she wanted to do just that. She was prepared to fight him for daring to hold her back when her sister needed her, and then she realized he was right. Kara didn't need her, she needed the DEO doctors and they couldn't have a family member in the operating room. There was nothing _she_ could do to save her sister.

The realization released a heap of sobs that she'd been keeping at bay until that moment. J'onn wrapped his arms around her. He didn't tell her it was going to be okay or offer any other well-meaning platitudes he just held her while she broke down.

She stayed like that crying in his arms until she caught sight of a red and blue clad figure in her peripheral vision.

"Superman." J'onn addressed Kara's only living blood relative.

"How is she?"

"Bad." J'onn didn't sugarcoat the news. "They have her in surgery now to try to remove the fragments of the stingers, which will hopefully keep more venom from entering her bloodstream. And, they're working to stop her internal bleeding. If she makes it through this she might have a chance."

Superman absorbed the news and then asked. "And what about the ones who did this to her?"

"Dead, except for one that fled. I have people searching for any sign of it. But it's a Zaralot, an interdimensional being, so it could be literally anywhere."

Superman didn't ask any more question, he just stood there his expression hard.

"Ma'am." Vasquez approached Alex and handed her her phone. "I thought you'd want to know you have several missed calls."

Alex took her phone and saw she had missed a bunch of calls from James and Winn, but she was pretty sure the ones Vasquez wanted her to know about were all the missed calls from her mom. She hadn't thought about Kara's fight being broadcast live on the news. Her mother must have seen something and was worried sick. Alex hated that she'd found out about Kara like that.

"Thank you." She told Vasquez.

Eliza answered on the first ring. "Alex, what's going on?! I've been trying to reach you, is your sister okay?!"

"No!" She cried before her voice cracked as a fresh round of sobs took over. Alex fought to compose herself fearing that her mom would misinterpret her answer and think that Kara was dead. "She alive, but her injuries are severe. She's in surgery now. Mom, I'm so sorry! It was an ambush, I should have seen it sooner! The aliens that attacked her injected her with a potent venom that's stopping her from healing."

Eliza took her time responding and Alex was sure she could hear her mother crying. "Alex I'm on my way to the airport now. I'm going to be on the next flight to National City."

"Alex," Superman said. "if I can offer my assistance, I know it's not the most comfortable way for humans to travel, but I can bring Eliza here a lot faster than a plane."

"Mom, Superman said he can come get you if you'd like?"

Kara had taken her foster mom up into the air a few times and Alex knew Eliza preferred a more traditional way of flying.

"Thank you, Clark." Eliza addressed Superman herself since she knew he could hear her just a clearly as he could Alex. "I would like that."

Superman took off and Alex waited a tense few moments for him to return with her mother. How was she going to face Eliza? Her mother counted on her to look out for her little sister and she had failed. At least on the phone, she couldn't see the hurt in her mother's eyes.

A few minutes later Superman returned with Eliza. Alex started to apologize again and for failing to protect Kara, but when she opened her mouth no words came out only sobs.

Eliza took Alex in her arms just like J'onn had and they cried together.

...

Several hours later Superman returned to the DEO holding bags of takeout. He had been waiting with the others for Kara to come out of surgery, but he had to leave several times to deal with emergencies in both Metropolis and National City.

"Any news?" He asked.

"Still in surgery." James answered. He and Winn had joined Alex, Eliza, and J'onn in their vigil.

"What about the hostages?" Winn asked referring to the latest crisis that had pulled the Man of Steel away.

"They're all okay and the gunmen are in police custody."

"That's good." Winn said weakly. He was happy everyone was alright, but he was still too worried about his friend to express much relief.

Superman walked over to Alex and gave her one of the bags of takeout. She looked at the bag and gave Superman a surprised look.

"Kara told me this place was your favorite and that you sometimes sent her on food runs and Chicago isn't that far from Metropolis."

"Thank you."

He handed out the rest of the bags, but no one felt like eating. He then took a seat next to James.

"Any word?" Lucy asked a few minutes later when she came in.

"Nothing," J'onn told her. "any sign of the Zarolot?"

"None of the scans have picked up a trace. Giving what happened to its friends it's probably fled."

Doctor Hamilton came into the room and everyone sat up. The woman's face didn't reveal much, but J'onn could still see a sadness in her eyes.

"How is she?" Eliza asked.

"She made it through the surgery. We have her under the solar lights right now, hoping they can stimulate her healing powers. We were able to stop the internal bleeding and I believe we have removed all the stinger fragments in her system."

"Is she going to be okay?" Alex asked getting straight to the point.

"I'm afraid I can't answer that. Her case is so unique, Kara's entire cellular makeup is so complex as well as the nature of her injuries, any prediction I made would just be a guess."

"Is she awake? Can we see her?" Winn asked.

"After she's had more time under the solar lamps you can see her." Dr. Hamilton hesitated before she continued and Alex felt her throat tighten. If Hamilton had good news she wouldn't be taking so long to share it. "There is so much venom in her bloodstream on top of her other injuries, her body is fighting it, but I'm afraid she's in a coma."


	4. Chapter 4

Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story.

* * *

Winn stepped off the Catco elevator only to be met with the sound of yelling. He recognized Cat Grant's voice and knew it was going to be a bad day for all of her employees. From the sound of it, her assistant was currently taking the brunt of her wrath.

 _I really should have called in sick again today._ He had spent the previous day sitting at Kara's side in the DEO med bay. It had been nearly thirty-six hours since she had come out of surgery and her condition still had not improved. Alex and Eliza were distraught with worry and as much as he wanted to be there for his friend, nothing he was doing was helping her and he felt like he was intruding on a family affair. Although he had made them promise to call if there was any change in her condition.

Plus, the IT supervisor had been adamant that Winn come in today if he wanted to keep his job. With all the internet traffic from people looking for news about Supergirl, the Catco website had nearly crashed several times and the department needed all of its employees to keep it running smoothly.

Winn made his way to his desk and tried not to listen to the verbal lashing taking place a few feet from him. He told himself not to eavesdrop on a private conversation, but even so, he found it hard to ignore most of what was being said.

"Clearly you've only been doing half of your job and relying on your predecessor to cover up your incompetence. We'll see how long you last without Kara to clean up after you. Now go reschedule my ten o'clock, clearly, I'm going to be too busy in the next several days for to for the _Women in Media_ interview."

Linda returned her desk and followed through with her boss' order, but Winn couldn't help but notice how much she struggled to keep her voice steady.

Part of him felt he should respect her privacy and pretend not to notice the tears streaming down her face, like the rest of their coworkers were doing. But he knew how hard Kara had worked to help Linda get settled into her new job and that she wouldn't want the young woman to be struggling so much in her absence.

He made his way over to her desk and said. "I know how hard it can be to not take it personally, especially with all the insults Ms. Grant makes, but she's not really mad at you, she just needs someone to take out her anger out on and unfortunately today that's you. But I know she doesn't really think you're incompetent."

"How can you be sure?"

"Well for starters, if she did she'd fire you on the spot." Then hearing his comment aloud he added. "That wasn't very helpful, was it?"

"No," Linda said with a cynical laugh.

"Listen she used to yell at Kara like that at least once a week. And she ended up getting a promotion."

"Winn please, tell me Kara is doing better and will be coming in today."

For half a second, Winn worried that Linda was talking about the coma until he remembered that James had told everyone that Kara was in a minor car accident and would probably be out for a few days.

"No, she's not coming today."

"Have you spoke to her because whenever I tried to call her phone's gone straight to voicemail?"

"Yeah, I think her phone's broken, but I haven't spoken Kara directly only to her sister."

"Or maybe Kara's too busy focusing on her recovery to do your job for you." Both Linda and Winn jumped at the sound of Cat's voice behind them.

"No, I heard she was in an accident and I wanted to check—" Linda began only to be cut off by her boss.

"I really don't want to hear it. I'm almost out of Lexipro, run down to the pharmacy and pick up my refill. Witt, my office now."

Linda gave Winn a sympathetic look before heading out.

After Winn walked into the office, Cat instructed him to close the door.

"I thought I made it clear that I wanted to be kept informed concerning Supergirl's condition." Cat demanded.

"You did Ms. Grant, and I thought James called you yesterday morning and explained about the coma."

"Yes, and it's been over twenty-four hours with no new reports."

"I'm sorry, but there has been nothing new to report. The doctors think her body is trying to fight the toxins in her system and they're treating her symptoms and injuries, but in the meantime, they warned it could take several days to see if the treatments are working."

"So basically we're just supposed to wait and see. Surely there has to be something else they can do besides just treating her symptoms."

"You're not the first person to express that sentiment, but Supergirl has the best minds on the planet trying to find a way to save her and she's been in dangerous situations before and survived. I have to believe she will this time too." Mostly because Winn couldn't imagine a world without Kara.

"Winn while I appreciate being kept updated on Supergirl even if it is off the record, I need you to talk to whoever is giving you this information and get permission for me to tell the public about Supergirl. I don't have to get into specifics about the coma, but I need to tell the people something.

They're going crazy being kept in the dark. And rumors are starting to spread from seemingly recordable sources that Supergirl is dead. While we both know that isn't true, there is only a matter of time before my competitors start to report them as fact."

"I'll see what I can do."

"Thank you."

Winn started to leave, but Cat stopped him before he made it out the door. "And Winn, if do you talk to Kara, please have her call me when she's up for it. I really want to know how she's doing."

...

J'onn soared through the sky towards National City. The DEO had intercepted a nine-one-one call about an armed robbery in progress at an Internet café and with Supergirl out of commission and with Superman in Metropolis it fell on J'onn to fill in for National City's hero.

One of the DEO techs had patched the nine-one-one call over his comms system so he could hear everything that the nine-one-one dispatcher could.

"Please have them hurry!" A hushed voice begged.

J'onn knew it must be the coffee patron who had the foresight to sneak into the bathroom and call nine-one-one when the robbery started. He couldn't tell much from the voice, other than it appeared to belong to a young woman, but it was clear that she was terrified.

"Police officers are on their way and will be there in a couple of minutes. I know how hard it is, but I need you to stay calm." The dispatcher said in a calm, authoritative voice. "Now it would really help if you could give us some information, so they know what to expect. How many people did you see with guns?"

"I don't know! At least two, maybe three! I ran in here as soon as the first guy pulled a gun on the barista."

J'onn could now see the coffee shop in the distance. As he sped towards it, the dispatcher continued to try to get information.

"That's very helpful. Now can you tell me anything about the weapons themselves, were they handguns or did they look—"

She was cut off by the sound of a door bursting open and a male yelling, "What are you doing?!"

"No! Please!" The woman cried, then the line went dead.

J'onn was now close enough that with his x-ray vision he could see inside the café. There were three armed men, one of whom was standing in the doorway of the women's restroom in front of a woman who looked a few years younger than Kara. A shattered cell phone lay at their feet. The man raised the gun and put it to her forehead, but before he had a chance to pull the trigger, he found himself being thrown into the nearby table.

Then before his two companions had a chance to react, J'onn also had them disarmed and laying on the ground. They'd only have minor injuries considering who'd fought them, but J'onn was sure they'd think twice before pointing guns at people again.

It took all the patrons a few seconds to register they were out of danger. When it finally sunk in, the woman started crying. Between her sobs, she ran to J'onn and cried. "Thank you, Superman!"

"There is no thanks necessary." He replied, figuring that's something the Man of Steel would say since he was currently assuming his identity.

J'onn and the DEO had decided that while he was filling in for Kara it was probably better if he saved people disguised as Superman, so his Martian form wouldn't cause anyone to panic. Superman himself had also agreed to this deception since it was to save innocent lives.

She was soon followed by all the rest of the people in the coffee shop thanking 'Superman' and asking if there wasn't something they could do to repay him.

"Like I said there is no thanks necessary and I don't need anything."

"Please there must be something we can do?" the barista asked.

J'onn shook his head and turned to walk out the door when an idea occurred to him. "Actually, and please don't feel any obligation if this is too much, but there might be something."

...

J'onn flew back to the DEO with two armfuls of coffees.

"Seriously J'onn accepting gifts from the people you saved." Lucy scowled at him, but he couldn't help but laugh at how she also grabbed one of the frappés and began drinking.

"Major Lane, I understand your objection, but I think this is one time where we can be a little lax with protocol. The employees were eager to show their gratitude and since we only talking about a few coffees I think it's okay. Besides it has been a rough few days for everyone and I think we could all use something better than the stuff we have here."

"As long as you're the one who gets to explain to Superman why it's all over twitter that 'Superman saves coffee patrons in exchange for drinks.' I'm guessing he's not going to be too happy. He's never done anything like this. It sounds more like something…"

"Something Supergirl would do, I know."

"Not true," Owens said. "Supergirl would have also brought back muffins and scones."

"After she ate half of them on the flight back," Lucy added.

Thinking about Kara caused J'onn to unconsciously glance over at the computers which had been running scans ever since Kara's attack searching for the Zarolot, but they still were not getting any results.

"I'm going to hand the rest of these out." He said.

J'onn headed to the private hospital-style room of the med bay which Kara had been moved to the day before. Even though he'd been in and out of her room several times already he still had to prepare himself emotionally for the sight of his friend.

Kara was hooked up to several life support machines, most of her body was covered in bandages and casts, and she had a breathing tube going down her throat. The DEO doctors had moved her to a hospital bed to prevent her body from getting sores from laying on a hard surface for too long. The lights of her room had been replaced with special bulbs that produced concentrated sunlight similar to her solar bed. James and Eliza were sitting at her bedside.

When he entered the room James looked up from the work he'd been doing on his tablet and greeted J'onn, but Eliza stayed focused on the papers in front of her. J'onn didn't take any offense because he knew she was busy trying to help the DEO doctors to determine what medicines to prescribe Kara and the proper dosages. Even though the DEO had tons of files on both Supergirl's and Superman's physiology, this situation was so unprecedented that it made almost of her treatments experimental. He placed a coffee on the table beside her trying his best not to disturb her concentration.

"Any change?" He asked James in a low voice.

"Her temperature went up another degree half and hour ago. They're trying to figure out if she can handle anymore zurmeril, but she's already had three times the maximum dosage for a human."

J'onn took in the information with a frown, then asked. "Is Alex still in her lab?"

She'd been going over Kara's blood samples the last time he'd seen her trying to see if she was producing enough antibodies to fight the toxins.

"That would be my guess I haven't seen her in a couple of hours. Also, Winn called. He said that Cat wants to hold a press conference to announce that Supergirl is alive and being treated, without going into details about her condition."

"Announcing to the world that Supergirl is incapacitated is just going to invite trouble for the city."

"Maybe, but staying silent hasn't been helping anything and Cat sometimes has a talent for announcing bad news in a way that doesn't cause a panic."

"I'll talk to Lucy and we'll think about. And when we get a chance we can run the idea by Eliza and Alex."

"Winn also said that Cat wants to talk to Kara. I know we can tell her that Kara is not up to talking, but I'm afraid if she doesn't hear from her she may start to question the timing of Kara's car accident at the same time that Supergirl is in a coma."

"I'll take care of it."

J'onn left them and went to Alex's lab where he found her asleep slumped over across her desk. He gave her shoulder a gentle shake.

"Alex."

She sat up and looked around realizing she'd passed out.

"Thanks, I tried to rest my eyes a second and I must have fallen asleep."

"You're exhausted. You need to get some real sleep."

"I'm not leaving."

"You don't have to go home. There are plenty of beds in the med bay that you can use."

"Maybe in a couple of hours, but I need to figure out something to counteract the effect of these neurotoxins." She said turning back to her computer.

"Alex." He gently grabbed her shoulder and forced her to face him. "You've gotten maybe seven hours of sleep total over the past forty-eight, now as a scientist, I'm sure you can appreciate what sleep deprivation does to your cognitive reasoning and ability to problem solve. You're not going to help your sister when you're too tired to even think."

The logic in his argument seemed to get through to her, but she was still reluctant to stop. "We don't know how fast her condition is progressing, I can't waste time she might not have to spare sleeping."

"There are many other brilliant people trying to find a way to save her. But you working yourself to death is not going to help your sister. You need to stop blaming yourself for what happened. It wasn't your fault."

"I knew there was something wrong and I still let Kara fly into a trap. How is that not my fault?"

"You didn't _let_ your sister do anything. You told her you thought something was wrong. Besides, it was Kara's choice to go to that park. There was nothing you could have done to prevent this."

"I knew that all of the Fort Rozz escapees wanted revenge on Alura, I should have anticipated something like this."

"No _, I_ should have anticipated it. I had all the same information you did and I still decided to let Kara handle the Lurmocronian on her own. If you want to blame someone for what happened, blame me."

Alex looked at him like she was shocked that he'd even suggest that. "You're the only reason she's even alive right now."

"No, I'm the reason she's fighting for her life right now. If I had realized it was a trap sooner and gotten there just a minute sooner we wouldn't be having this conversation. As head of the DEO Supergirl is my responsibility, not to mention the promise I made to your father to look out for you both. I'm the one who failed to protect Kara, not you.

But while she's lying in that hospital bed and I can't help her, I'm not going to let her sister keep passing out from exhaustion. You know she wouldn't want you punishing yourself because of her. If you really want to help your sister, take care of yourself, which means you are going to get a few hours sleep. That's an order Agent Danvers."

Alex didn't have the energy to argue anymore and he walked her down the hall to find a bed. After she was settled in he left to get some work done, but he came back fifteen minutes later just to be sure she hadn't tried to sneak back in her lab. Alex was in bed, sound asleep.

Satisfied that Alex would be alright for a few hours he turned his attention back to the conversation he'd just had with James and he knew he had a call to make.

...

Cat's phone buzzed on the top of her desk. She looked at the caller ID and was shocked and thrilled to see who was calling. Kara's name flashed on the screen.

When Cat had asked Winn to have Kara call her she never expected to hear from her, at least not so soon. She quickly answered.

"Kara!"

"Hello, Ms. Grant. Winn said you wished to speak to with me. I trust you heard about my car accident."

Cat knew that this was a lie. She knew who Kara really was, and the real reason why she had not come into work. Her mind was racing. If Supergirl had come out of the coma, why hadn't Winn or James called her themselves? She asked to be informed the minute something changed. And they didn't know that she knew that Supergirl and Kara were the same person. She looked out her office window and saw Winn was still working at his desk. If his friend had come out of her coma why wasn't he at her side?

"Yes, are you alright." She asked trying to keep her voice even.

"I have some minor cuts and bruises. Nothing too concerning."

"I see, well that's lucky. Did you get my messages?" Cat asked waiting to see how the other woman responded.

She knew Kara well enough to know she would apologize profusely for waiting over a day to call her back, even if she had been incapacitated, especially considering one of her text that she's sent before she learned Kara was in a coma had simply said 'CALL ME BACK IN THE NEXT FIVE MINUTES OR YOU'RE FIRED'. She hadn't meant it of course. She'd just been desperate to hear if Kara was okay and that seemed like the best way to ensure a response.

"Not until late yesterday. I apologize for my delay in my response, but I hope now that you know about my accident you understand why I was unable to call you earlier."

"I do." It was technically an apology, but it was not nearly as heartfelt as the kind she normally received from Kara. The voice was Kara's, but not the personality. She asked one more question to confirm her suspicion. "Kara I need to meet with the head of the mailroom and Lisa doesn't know his name. Do you know remember it?"

There was silence on the other end of the line, for a minute. "I think his name was Mike, but I might have him confused with someone else. It's been awhile since we spoke."

Cat had no idea if the man's name was Mike or not, but she'd answered her question either way. The real Kara remembered all of her coworker's names, even the ones she'd only met once for a few minutes.

Cat was tempted to expose whomever or whatever this was as an imposter, no doubt it was the same one who'd helped Kara try to fool her boss long ago, but she held back. This person was just trying to protect Kara's secret and she wasn't about to let on that she already knew it.

"Thank you, I'll check with HR just to make sure. Hopefully, when you've recovered we can talk again. I have to get back to work. Goodbye."

"Goodbye, Ms. Grant."

Cat hung up and stared at the wall wondering if she'd ever really get to talk to the real Kara again.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Notes: Sorry I'm posting this a little late tonight, I planned to post it a few hours ago, but life got in the way. Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story._

* * *

"Alex, I know you don't have much of an appetite, but you really should try to eat something." Her mother pleaded.

Over the last half hour, Alex hadn't taken more than a few nibbles of the potstickers James had brought her and Eliza. It wasn't that she didn't appreciate his attempt to cheer her up, but the food reminded her too much of Kara and it was hard to enjoy one of her sister's favorite meals when she was being fed through a tube. Still, Alex forced down a few bites just to please her mother.

Eliza hadn't eaten much more than Alex herself. She seemed more concerned with her tablet. A few seconds later Alex heard Cat Grant's voice coming from the device.

"Are you watching that speech again?" Alex asked referring to the press conference about Supergirl that Cat held the day before after they'd given her permission to inform the public about Kara's condition.

"I find it comforting, and Kara's always looked up to her boss. Maybe something will get through to her."

Eliza turned the volume up and aimed the screen to where they both could see it.

"People of National City, this is Cat Grant live from Catco. By now you are no doubt aware of the recent attack on Supergirl and have seen the gruesome images of her injuries. Over the past two days, rumors have been circulating that Supergirl's injuries were fatal. Up until now, I have remained silence about her condition and people have interpreted my actions as confirmation of those rumors.

Let me assure you my silence was out of respect for Supergirl's privacy, but she is indeed alive. Although she was hurt, she is being treated in an undisclosed facility. This information comes from sources I trust who are close to Supergirl. And in light of recent events, I am allowing them to remain anonymous. I cannot go into any details concerning Supergirl's injuries and due to the unique nature of her anatomy, it is difficult to determine the severity of those injuries or know if they could possibly be life threatening.

I know how difficult this information is to hear. Supergirl has saved National City so many times and defeated such powerful enemies that it is easy to think of her as invincible. The events two days ago shattered that notion. But while she is not invincible, she is resilient, and she is a fighter. Even though Supergirl is not invincible she does not shy away from danger, but she still chooses to take on dangerous enemies to protect this city as well as the planet. It is that quality that gives me hope that she will recover from these injuries and return to protecting this city.

To those who would choose to focus on the severity of her injuries I encourage you to remember that while her situation may seem bleak, she has survived far worse. Before she came to Earth she suffered not only the loss of her home planet but the loss of almost everyone she loved.

After such a loss she could have simply given up or she could have chosen succumb to bitterness and abused all of the powers that she has, but that is not what she did. Instead, she chose to make a new home and use those powers to help others.

Now I understand the thought of not having Supergirl around, even temporarily is frightening. I understand because I too am scared. But I encourage each and everyone to not give in to that fear, instead follow Supergirl's example and chose hope now matter how discouraging circumstances may look."

After Cat's speech ended the rest of the broadcast included clips from Kara's speech about hope when she had addressed the city while everyone was under the influence of Myriad.

"I'm going to get some water." Alex stood and walked out of the room. She couldn't bear to listen to the rest of the broadcast and hear Kara encouraging people to hope. Seeing her like that was too much of a contrast to the frail patient currently fighting for her life.

Alex waited until she was sure the video was over before returning to the room. Doctor Hamilton was in there checking Kara's vital sign.

"Doctor Hamilton would like to talk to us." Eliza said.

Alex took a seat next to her mother, who grabbed her hand.

"Despite my hopes, our treatments have been unable to prevent Kara's condition from progressing and while I believe her Kryptonian healing abilities are working to counteract the adverse effects of the envenomation and that they are what's keeping her alive despite her injuries and high temperature, they are quickly becoming overwhelmed. I believe it's time we revisit our other option."

"You mean the exchange transfusion," Eliza said.

Since they didn't have an antivenom for a Layurus sting nor a way to create one, this was the only solution they'd been able to come up over the past three and a half days. The procedure would involve removing Kara's tainted blood and replacing it with healthy blood. The problem was they didn't know where to get healthy blood that was compatible with Kara's.

"I've consulted with my uncle in this matter and he is optimistic that a transfusion of Superman's blood would transfer the healing properties in his blood into Kara."

"Assuming the process doesn't kill her," Alex muttered.

"Yes, you both are well aware of the risk, but Kara and Superman are first cousins which should increase the odds that their blood will be compatible."

What those odds actually were Amelia couldn't say. So far they'd been unable to determine if Kara and Kal-El had the same blood type, or even if Kryptonians have different blood types like humans. It was one of the unknown variables and the risks associated with them that had led them to forgo giving Kara a blood transfusion earlier.

"Assuming we hold off on this, how long do you think Kara has?" Alex asked.

"Her kidney's are already starting to shut down. I believe in the next twelve to twenty-four all her systems will begin to fail until she goes into cardiac arrest."

The words were like a blow to Alex, next to her Eliza let out a cry. They had both been regularly checking Kara's chart and as scientists, they'd both been able to draw the same conclusion, but hearing Hamilton say it out loud had made it all the more real.

If they did nothing different, Kara would most likely be dead the next day. But if they gave her Superman's blood then they risked killing her themselves. If the blood was not a match she'd go into anaphylaxis and in Kara's weakened state she never survive.

"Emil thinks this is the best option?" Eliza asked Dr. Hamilton. She had gotten to know Amelia's uncle very well over the years from his work with Superman and she respected his opinion. He was one of the few people who knew more about Kryptonian anatomy than Eliza and Jeremiah.

"He says that at this point we don't really have any good options, but this one is the most promising."

Eliza turned to Alex. "What do you think?"

"I don't think we have a choice. I think this is what Kara would want. I think she'd rather us take a risk than keep doing something that we know isn't working."

"What about Superman? Has he been consulted in this?" Eliza asked.

"He has," Hamilton said. "and he says he is willing to give his blood if you agree to the procedure."

"Okay," Eliza agreed. "I think Alex is right, it's what Kara would do."

"How are you planning to draw his blood?" Alex asked.

"We'll use the kryptonite emitters and turn them up just enough to allow us to penetrate Superman's skin."

"Even on low, you run this risk that they will damage his blood cells before we even put them in Kara."

"I know Alex, but unfortunately we don't have another option."

"Maybe we do. We still have the red sunlight emitter that the Fort Rozz guard used when he kidnapped Kara."

"Wait, Kara was kidnapped?!" Eliza exclaimed. Her daughters had never bothered to share that information with her.

"I'll explain later, Mom." That was not a conversation she was looking forward to, especially since it would probably lead to her mom asking what else had they kept from her, but she had more pressing family concerns right then. "If we can use it to inhibit Superman's powers temporarily, then we can take his blood without risking compromising its cellular structure."

Hamilton gave Alex a surprised look. "You're right, that's brilliant, Alex. I'll go call Superman and tell him you want to do the procedure. The sooner we get started the better."

...

Cat looked at her clock and saw it was quarter past ten. Frowning she stood and walked over to her assistant's desk. "What are you still doing here? Go."

She expected Linda to be relieved to finally have an end to what had already been another long work day, but instead her new assistant looked like she was about to cry. "Ms. Grant please this job means everything to me and I know you're still mad that I put your mother's call through earlier, and if you give me another chance next time I'll insist you're not available even if she yells at me. I'm sorry I had no idea she's—"

"The human embodiment of every Disney villain, well now you know. And you better watch how you finish that sentence, that's my mother you're talking about. I've earned the right to tell the truth about her. But I don't mean go for good. I meant, go home, it's late."

"So I'm not fired."

"Not yet, but if you put any more calls from my mother through to me I may rethink my decision."

Cat returned to her office and took a seat on the balcony. _I must be going soft._ A few years ago she would have fired Linda for making half the mistakes she's made. It wasn't that her new assistant was that bad, but Cat had exceptionally high standards. Years ago she'd paid her dues working for short-tempered, demanding bosses, ultimately it had made her a better journalist; now she expected the same of her employees.

She blamed Kara for her change of heart. Her former assistant had worked her way into her boss' heart and she caused Cat to start opening herself up to people. She was certainly the reason Cat hadn't fired Linda. _Kara had to take Linda under her wing._ Now it felt like she was betraying her if she fired Linda while Kara was fighting for her life.

Cat kept thinking back to the phone call she received shortly before she sent Linda home. James had called to share the latest update on Kara's condition. He'd explained their plan to give Kara a transfusion of Superman's blood.

After waiting for so long for something to change, part of her thought she should feel relieved that she was not longer being held in suspense, but all she felt was dread. Sure, the treatment could work and Kara could start to recover in the next few hours, but there was still the strong possibility that this last ditch effort would fail and tomorrow she'd have to announce to National City and the world that their hero was not coming back.

How could she begin to do that? Sure, she'd reported on tragedies before, but that had been different. She'd enjoyed a nice level of distance from those stories. Moreover, how was she going to explain to her staff and a small, yet growing number of loyal readers that Kara Danvers was gone.

...

Alex had asked for a moment alone with her sister before they began the treatment. She wasn't going to say goodbye she told herself. No, this was one more effort to get through to her.

"Hey Kara I don't know if you can hear me, but if you can I need you to know that I really need my little sister right now. I know, you think that having you as my sister has somehow kept me from living the life I want, but you're wrong. Yeah maybe my life might have been easier if you had never come to live with us, but that's not the life I want because even if would have been easier, it wouldn't have been better.

My life is better for having you in it. _I'm_ better for having you as my sister. Without you, I never would have been able to take on aliens twice my size or help save the city from destruction. You have shown me I can make a difference in the world. And I still need you. I need you to challenge me, to encourage me, and to teach me to have hope even when it seems like all hope is lost.

So if you can hear any of this, I need you to fight to come back to us. You have the biggest heart of anyone I've ever known and there nothing you fight harder for than the people you love and we still need you, Kara."

She finished her speech, wiped the tears from her eyes, and searched for any sign that her words had gotten through to Kara, but her sister looked just as weak and lifeless as she did before.

A few minutes later Hamilton, J'onn, Superman, and her mother came back in.

"Ready to begin?" Hamilton asked.

They all nodded and the doctor got started. She stuck two catheters in Kara's blood vessels, one take the infected blood out and one for Superman's blood to enter. No one spoke during the procedure. After all the anxiety she had felt leading up to this point, Alex almost thought the process was a bit anticlimactic.

Several hours went by with Kara undergoing several cycles of removing her blood and replacing it (luckily the Man of Steel seemed to be able to donate as much blood as they needed) and her condition seemed pretty much the same. Kara was no longer on the decline and her fever had decreased slightly (which everyone celebrated) but at the same time, she hadn't shown much improvement. Hamilton and the other doctors stopped by every hour and check her vitals.

Sometime during the night Alex had fallen asleep sitting with her sister. She didn't know how long she'd been out, but she had been jolted from her sleep shortly after dawn by the sound of rapid beeping.

At first in her groggy state Alex hadn't know what was causing the noise, then once her brain had woken up enough to realize it was one of the machines keeping Kara alive she had jerked herself out of her chair and was by Kara's side in an instant.

Once she saw what the problem was tears began to cloud her vision. Alex heard people running down the hall and soon Eliza, J'onn, and Hamilton all sprinted into the room.

"What's wrong…" Eliza began only to trail off.

Kara's heart monitor was beeping rapidly, but that's was not what drew their attention. Kara was moving. Her head jerked from side to side and her chest rapidly rose up and down. Alex panicked thinking Kara was having a seizure, but then a second later she realized this couldn't be what was going on when she saw Kara's hand go to her mouth and her fingers closed around the tube leading to her trachea. _She can feel the tube in her throat._ Alex realized. But that meant she was alert.

Everyone was too busy processing what they were seeing and what it meant, that they didn't think about what Kara actually was doing. And before anyone had the foresight to stop her she yanked the tube out in one swift motion. Once it was clear of her airway she took several quick breaths. The beeping on her monitor slowed as she started breathing normally.

Then she opened her eyes. Spotting Alex first, she looked her sister up and down before a frown formed on her face. Alex grabbed Kara's hand assuming she must be in pain, but when Kara finally spoke she asked. "Alex's what's wrong? Are you okay?"

Alex started to answer her, to tell her nothing was wrong, not anymore now that she was awake, but when she opened her mouth she started crying so hard she couldn't speak.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story._

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Kara didn't know where she was, nor did she remember how she'd gotten there, but those questions could wait because right then she had a more pressing concern. There was something wrong with Alex. That much Kara knew. Her sister looked terrible and she needed to know why.

When Alex started crying she quickly sat up to try to comfort her, only to instantly regret the move. As soon as she sat up she felt a sharp pounding pain in her head.

"Hey, easy." Alex stopped crying and shifted into big sister mode when she saw her sister grab her head and start wincing.

 _So this is what a headache feels like._ Kara thought. _And since when do I get headaches?_

"How do you feel, honey?" When she heard her foster mom's voice she looked up and saw for the first time the other people in the room.

"Eliza, what are you doing here?"

Eliza looked about as bad as Alex. Both women looked thinner than they had when she'd last seen them and had terrible bags under their eyes. It was a featured that was shared with everyone in the room. Everyone she saw looked weary and sleep deprived. Although J'onn and Amelia didn't look nearly as bad as Alex and Eliza.

She also saw she lying on a hospital bed in what she assumed was the DEO med bay, her super suit had been replaced by a thin hospital gown, she was covered in bandages and most of the left side of her body was in a cast.

"I came as soon as I heard." Her foster mom said taking Kara's hand.

Hamilton came over and started checking her vitals.

"Amazing fever's gone, heart rate, respiratory rate, and blood pressure have all returned to normal. No sign of facial contusions." She peeled back a bandage on Kara's right arm where the Layurus had first stung her. The skin looked a little red and swollen, but it didn't look nearly as serious as a Layurus sting should. "The tissue damage from your sting has almost completely healed. Besides the pain in your head any other complaints?"

"No, not really, just weak."

Hamilton made a few notes on her chart.

"Did I blow out my powers again?" Kara asked.

"Not exactly, it's more likely they were inhibited by the Layurus venom in your system."

"Do you remember what happened with the Layuruses and the Zarolots?" Alex asked

Memories flooded back into her mind, being lured to the park, realizing it was a trap, fighting the other aliens, throwing the rotor into the Layurus, and using her heat vision against the Zarolot. Tears started to form in the corners of Kara's eyes. She pushed those memories away, she couldn't handle thinking about that now.

"Mostly," Kara said. "I remember we fought, I take it I lost."

"You held you own, but you were hurt….Kara, you…" Alex's voice started to crack. "You nearly died. If J'onn had shown up when he did…"

"They would have finished the job." Turning to the Martian, she added. "Thank you." Then back to her sister and foster mother. "I'm sorry I scared you."

"You have nothing to be sorry about, we're just glad you're okay." Eliza said.

No one said anything for a moment, then Kara had to ask. "The Zarolot and the Layurus, I killed them didn't I."

"You didn't have a choice," Alex reassured her. "they brought what happened on themselves when they attacked you and forced you to defend yourself."

Kara nodded. She knew all of this, but it didn't make her feel much better about what she did. "Was anyone else hurt? When the Layurus fell to the ground, was anyone one hit?"

"No. And besides a few scrapes and bruises that the people in the Catcopter obtained, no civilians were hurt. If it wasn't for you things could have turned out a lot worse."

"What about the the other Zarolot and the Layuruses did you catch them?"

"The Zarolot disappeared as soon as J'onn showed up. We've tried to find it, but it likely fled to another planet or dimension. As for the Layuruses—"

"I killed them." J'onn interrupted. "They were either going to kill you or die trying. I chose the second option."

"So how bad was I injured. It felt like I broke something when I hit the Catcopter, and I see a lot of bandages, but nothing hurts or feels broken now."

They all looked at each other. J'onn's eyes turned red as he looked her up and down.

"All of your broken bones have healed." He said.

"All of them? How many broken bones did I have?"

Alex took her hand. "Kara between the stings, the energy attacks, and the injuries you sustained from the fight and the fall you nearly died. Technically, you did die, you weren't breathing when J'onn brought you back to the DEO. The doctors were able to save you, but they had to do surgery on you to stop internal bleeding. Kara, you've been in a coma for the past four days."

"What?! Four days?!" Kara sputtered her mind was racing so hard that she couldn't form complete sentences. "How?"

"Your body has been through a lot." The doctor explained. "The neurotoxins in the Layurus venom, I've never seen anything like them. Your body was trying to fight them, but the concentration of venom in your blood was too high, so last night we performed a proceed where we replaced your blood with Superman's blood."

"You had to take Kal-El blood, is he okay? I mean you had to use kryptonite right?"

"He's fine. We used a red sunlight emitter to take his blood. " Alex explained. "He'll be even better once he knows you're awake.

That made Kara feel better, but something else occurred to her.

"What about the people who've needed Supergirl in the past few days?"

She thought of all of the car accidents, fires, muggings, and other tragedies that could have occurred in the past four days. How many people had been hurt because she wasn't around to help them?

"Don't worry. J'onn and Superman have been filling in for you." Eliza said.

"What about my other job? Cat's going to fire me if, she hasn't already."

"No, she's not," Alex reassured her.

"I had a deadline on Wednesday, which I apparently missed. She does not tolerate anyone missing deadlines. I should know; I used to have to prepare the termination letters for her, and Cat was already mad about my last story not being credible enough."

"Yeah, but given you're still recovering I think she'll give you a break." When Kara gave her a puzzled look, Alex explained. "Winn and James told everyone at Catco you were in a car accident. So relax. You nearly died. The last thing you need to do right now is worry about work."

"Your sister's right, you're still recovering and you need to take it easy. We also need to run a few test later and make sure you're alright, but first, you need some rest." Hamilton said

"I've been unconscious for four days. I think I can cross 'get rest' off my to-do list."

Hamilton laughed at Kara remark. "Sorry, it doesn't work like that. You just came out of a coma and you woke up to quite a shock. You need to give your body time to adjust."

Everyone left except for Alex and Eliza who after making sure Kara was okay began to call her friends and share the good news.

...

After Kara spent a few hours in her solar bed, the DEO doctors ran numerous test on her to see how she'd been affected by the blood transfusion. And although she didn't have her powers, all her test came back normal, at least for a Kryptonian. Kara's injuries were not completely healed, but in a few hours, she'd healed more than a human would over several weeks.

As for when she'd get her powers back, Hamilton had not given Kara much encouragement. Although she told Kara that her powers were most likely just worn out from fighting off the Layurus venom and her injuries, she admitted their loss could also be a side effect of the transfusion and she couldn't predict when or even if they'd return.

When she received her test results, Kara insisted she was fine and wanted to go home, but Hamilton would not agree to that saying she wanted Kara to stay overnight for observation. Despite her doctor's recommendation, it took a lot of persuading on Eliza's part and arguing on Alex's part (who warned her sister that she'd strap her to the bed if that's what it took) to convince Kara to stay at the DEO. She finally agreed on the condition that Eliza and Alex would go home and get some much-needed sleep themselves.

Before they reluctantly agreed to leave Kara, J'onn assured them that he'd look out for her and he'd make sure she got plenty of rest, so he was quite irritated when one of the DEO agents came and reported to him that Supergirl was in Agent Danvers' lab a few hours later.

He thanked the agent and found Kara on Alex's computer watching news footages of her fight with the Fort Rozz escapees.

"I thought you told your mom and your sister that you were going to get some rest."

"I tried to get some sleep, but being unconscious for almost ninety straight hours really messes with your sleep cycle. I was going nuts just laying there, which I'm pretty sure is also bad for my overall health, so I decided to find something to do."

He could feel his frustration rising, it was a familiar sensation that he usually experienced when he was dealing with one of the Danvers sisters.

"You're going back to bed."

Kara started to argue, but J'onn cut her off. "Are you going to come with me or am I going to have to carry you and keep in mind, right now, you are in no position to stop me."

Kara considered her options and for a second it looked like she intended to put up a fight, then she got up and muttered. "I never thought I'd end up one of the alien prisoners at this place."

J'onn led Kara back to the med bay.

"Most of our prisoners don't get balloons, flowers, and ice cream." He said referring to the gifts Winn, James, and Superman had brought when they had come to visit earlier.

"If I have to just lay here, could you at least let me use one of the tablets?"

"If I say yes, you're just going to look up news on Supergirl for hours, and then we both know that you'll never get any rest."

"How else am I going to find out what people are saying about what happened to me? It's not like anyone has been very open about that with me, like how no one told me that the whole world thinks Supergirl is dead."

"The whole world doesn't think you're dead, the media is just playing to people's fears for better ratings. You work in journalism; you know how this works."

"Yeah and I also know how much people can be influenced by what they see on the news and I don't want National City to be in a panic while I'm laying in bed."

"That's why we've had your boss set the record straight. And we didn't tell you about any of this because we knew you'd work yourself up over something that right now you can't do anything about. You've already had enough overwhelming news for one day and you're not doing yourself any favors by worrying what people are speculating about Supergirl. If you want to help the people of this city, focus on getting better."

"You also failed to mention that all those times you've been filling in for me over the last four days, you've been pretending to be my cousin."

J'onn had figured at some point she'd bring this up so he had an argument prepared. "After what happened to you, people are already scared, and me flying around in my Martian form is not going to help anything."

"Of course it would. Having you saving people as the real you would show people not to judge others based on their looks but on their actions. When you were pretending to be Hank Henshaw, you claimed you couldn't be the real you because you needed to stay undercover, and now that everyone knows that you're an alien you're still hiding the real you."

"I'm do not disguise myself because I want to, I hide my true form because when humans see the real me they nearly always react with fear and hatred. You think that just because you're an also an alien that you understand, but you don't. You look human, you have no idea what it is like to have people look at you and see a monster."

"You're right, I don't know what it's like to look different from the rest of the planet. But I do know what it's like to have people look at you like a monster. That was how everyone looked at me after I was affected by red kryptonite, of course in my case I kind of deserved their fear after everything I did. But after I kept trying to make up for everything, people eventually forgave me. Humans can be a lot more understanding and accepting than you think if you give them a chance. And maybe they do often do react to new things with fear, but that's why you have to show them there's nothing to be afraid of."

J'onn sighed. He still didn't agree with her. Kara was too much of an idealist to ever see human nature like him, but he still didn't want her to lose that part of her personality. "Glad to see your recent brush with death has not dampened you endless optimism."

Kara shrugged. "I have near death experiences all the time, if I was going to let it turn me into a pessimist, I would have gotten out of the evil alien fighting business a long time ago. I do have one more question."

"Fine, but then you have to get some rest."

"Why didn't you ever pretend to be Supergirl when you were covering for me? It would have stopped people from assuming I was dead."

"Because it didn't feel right acting like you were fine when you were fighting for your life and we didn't want to give people false hope."

"In case I didn't make it."

He nodded. "Your cousin was alright with me disguising myself as him and I had a feeling you wouldn't like me pretending to be Supergirl."

"And you're right. If you're going to be filling in for me and saving people, I would rather a big green alien get the credit than Supergirl."

"Alright now that I answered your question, get some sleep."

At the mention of sleep, Kara started to look anxious. "You know I could rest a lot easier if I was in my own bed."

"You agreed you'd stay one more night for observation."

"Only because I didn't have a choice in the matter and it was the only way to convince Alex and Eliza to go home and get some rest. They're the ones you should be worried about, not me. I haven't seen them looking like that since Jeremiah died—or at least that's what we were told happened to him."

J'onn was worried about them. He had been since Kara's attack, but he wasn't going to tell Kara that, not when he could see how guilty she already felt for how her near-death experience had affected her loved ones. He knew that was why she was making such a fuss over having to take it easy. She was trying to convince everyone else and herself that she was alright, but J'onn could see that she wasn't.

"The last few days have been miserable for your mom and sister and nearly losing you...well you've seen them, you know. But they're strong women and having you recover will help them more than anything. But pretending you're fine when you're clearly not is not going to help them. You've been through a lot and I don't just mean physically. I know you want to act like none of this has affected you so they won't worry, but in the long run, that's just going to hurt you more and by extension, the people that care about you."

Kara broke eye contact and stared at the wall, the relaxed demeanor that she'd been trying so hard to portray faded and her whole body tensed up.

"Earlier when I was just laying here and couldn't sleep, I kept reliving killing the two aliens. When I closed my eyes I could see the pain and shock in the Layurus' eyes when the rotor went through his chest. And I could hear that awful shriek the Zarolot made right before I killed him."

Her eyes started to brim with tears. Even though he wasn't really comfortable with physical affection, J'onn didn't hesitate to sit next to her and wrap his arms around, the way he used to comfort his daughters back on Mars.

"I know, I didn't have a choice in the matter." Kara continued. "They would have killed me and others if I hadn't done what I did. But when I killed them," She cringed as she said the word killed. "I didn't even think about it. How do you kill someone without even thinking about it?"

"You were focused on helping the people in the helicopter and you reacted. I know you feel guilty about what happened, but it doesn't mean you made the wrong choice.

You feel guilty because you value life, even the lives of two aliens trying to kill you. Even if you know you didn't have a choice you hate that it had to come to this. I know, you know all this in your head, but usually, it takes your heart longer to accept what you had to do, especially for a heart as big as yours."

Kara nodded her head but didn't say anything else and J'onn stayed with her holding her in his arms until she fell asleep.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story._

* * *

A couple of days after she came out of the coma, Kara was back in her apartment and already anxious to return to work. Alex had stayed the night to make sure her sister was alright and because she wanted some space from her mother who was staying in her apartment.

They were just finishing their breakfast when James knocked on Kara's door.

"Good morning." James greeted the Danvers sisters when he arrived to pick Kara up for work.

Kara let out a small squeal when she saw the pink box in his hand. "Are those what I think they are?"

James gave her a quick peck on the lips and opened the box revealing a dozen crullers. "I thought your first day back deserved a little something special."

"You are my new favorite person!" Kara said, taking two.

"You might want to pace yourself." Alex suggested. "We don't know how your alien metabolism was affected by the loss of your powers."

"Thanks, sis," Kara said through a mouth full of cruller. "aren't you supposed to be making me feel better?"

Alex rolled her eyes at her sister's lack of manners.

"And I'm supposed to be looking out for you, which I'm doing. You eat enough in a day to make a normal person sick, and until you know if your metabolism is working normally, you should take it easy on the crullers, especially since you already had a sticky bun." Alex said as she took the third cruller out of her sister's hand.

"Well, that sucks."

"Yeah well now you see what it's like for the rest of us all the time. And while we're on the subject of taking it easy I really think you should reconsider going in today."

Kara sighed. "You've already made that abundantly clear last night. I'm not going to be tackling aliens—like you did the last time the DEO doctors told you to rest and recuperate—I'm going to be sitting at a desk hitting buttons on a computer for eight hours and maybe making a few phone calls. I think that qualifies as taking it easy."

Alex sighed, accepting that she was not going to change Kara's mind. She had already tried for hours the night before. And even though she understood that Kara wanted to get back to her life and that going back to work would take her mind off of what had happened to her, it didn't make Alen feel any better about her little sister walking around being just as vulnerable as human with a dangerous alien (with the ability to go anywhere) wanting her dead.

She'd feel better if the DEO had managed to catch the Zarolot, but there had still been no sign of it. And even if they had caught it, there were still plenty of other aliens who wanted to kill Alura Zor-El's daughter. And, Alex knew she couldn't keep Kara under constant guard until her powers returned—not that she hadn't considered that option.

"Fine, but if I hear about you facing another armed robber without your powers. I will stick you in one of the DEO cells until they return."

Kara glared at James. "You told her about that."

"I am an elite agent and I work with an alien who can read minds. Do you really think I needed James to tell me?"

James had actually told them about it, but Alex didn't want to get him in trouble with Kara when he was only looking out for her. And once Alex had gotten past her initial anger at him for photographing Kara while she took on a gunman, instead of trying to stop her, she'd been grateful that he shared the information.

"Are you ready to go?" James asked trying to change the subject.

"Just got to brush my teeth and I will be," Kara said as she headed towards the bathroom.

Once she was sure Kara was out of earshot James asked Alex in a low voice, "How's she doing?"

Alex sighed. "Physically she's completely recovered, except for the lack of powers. She keeps insisting that she's fine, but every time I try to talk to her about what happened she acts like it was no big deal. She says it's not the first time she's been in a life or death situation fighting aliens and she's right, but I don't think it's really sunk in how close she came to…to not making it...and I worry what's going to happen when it does."

"Listen I know you already have enough to worry about, but we may have another problem. Cat Grant has requested a meeting with Supergirl."

"I hope you told her that was not possible."

"I told her Supergirl was still recovering and not up for an interview, but Cat's relentless she's not going to let this go."

"There is still the last Zarolot out there, not too mention all the other Fort Rozz escapees who want to see Kara dead. She can't be putting herself at risk dressing up as Supergirl for an interview especially when she doesn't have her powers right now. Even if she could do the interview, what's she going to say? 'I'm no longer dying, but I can't go around saving anyone because I've lost my powers.'"

"I agree, but I'm not sure Kara will."

"Which is exactly why you should not say anything to her about this."

"I'm not going to lie to Kara."

"I'm not saying you lie to her, just hold off on telling her about Cat's request until she has her powers back. Look Kara has been through a lot in the last few days, she's not thinking clearly and the last thing she needs is to have to worry about whether she should meet with Cat."

"And then what is she going to say…" James' voice trailed off because they both heard Kara returning.

When she saw them she looked from one to the other quizzically. "Hey, what were you guys talking about?"

James involuntarily diverted his eyes for a second making him look guilty, but Alex kept her body language relaxed and casual.

"Oh, mostly how it's nice to be able to have a conversation and not having to worry about an alien using her super-hearing to eavesdrop for a change." She joked.

Now it was Kara's turn to look guilty, but she replied in the most innocent voice she had. "I'm sure I don't know know what you're talking about." A slight smile started to form at the corners of her mouth.

"No, you'd never use your powers to listen in on a private conversation. But if you must know I was just reminding your boyfriend to look out for you while you waiting for your powers to return and I was about to explain that means that under no circumstances should he allow you to drive."

"What, I'm a great driver?"

"No you drive like you're invincible, which you're definitely not today, so you are not allowed to get behind the wheel."

"Okay I get that you're worried, but don't you think you're being a bit too overprotective."

"No, not after I nearly lost you a few days ago. Besides, I'm your big sister. It's my job to look out for you."

"I know," Kara put a hand on Alex's arm. "and you're great at it, but I can also take care of myself. You don't need to worry about me." She let her words sink in, before adding. "And speaking of jobs, we better get going. I don't need to be late after being out for so long."

Kara and James said goodbye and headed out. Once they were gone, the smile that Alex wore for her sister's benefit evaporated. She hated lying to her sister even if it was to protect her. James was right Kara would be angry if she found out they hid Cat's request, but she'd just have to get over it. Kara was still too vulnerable, even if she didn't think so, and Alex wasn't going to let her do anything to put herself at risk.

...

On her way into the Catco building, Kara started wondering if she maybe should have listened to Alex and taken the day off. She hadn't slept well the past two nights and she could feel fatigue starting to overtake her. And even though she'd told everyone she was fine, she'd felt weak and sore since emerging from the coma.

Kara didn't want to make a big deal about her return to Catco and planned to slip quietly into her office like it was any other day. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan.

"Kara you're back!" Linda beamed the second Kara walked out the elevator. "I heard about what happened, are you okay?"

Kara flashed Linda a smile. She'd expected to have to answer a lot of questions about her 'car accident,' but she hoped she could get settled into her routine before she had to deal with everyone.

"Oh yeah, I'm fine. It was no big deal, no broken bones, just a few scrapes and bruises. And I was real sore for a couple of days."

"Well I'm glad you're better and I'm glad you back. It's been crazy without you."

Winn had briefed Kara on what had happened at Catco, while she was out, but from what she'd seen in the countless messages from Cat demanding that Kara contacted her and the desperate messages from a overwhelmed Linda, she had gathered that he'd downplayed how hectic work had actually been. She hated knowing how much of Cat's anger Linda had endured because she wasn't there to help her. And even though she knew she couldn't help it, she still felt responsible.

"Yeah I heard Ms. Grant has been real tough on you the last few days. I'm sorry I never called you back, I was pretty out of it."

"No don't worry about it, you couldn't help it. If anything, not having you around for a few day made me appreciate how much you run interference for me with Ms. Grant."

"I'm happy to help, I remember how hard it was when I started in the job. Ms. Grant is a great boss, in her own way, but she's tough and it can take her a while to warm up to people."

"It probably didn't help that you were out at the same time that Supergirl was hurt. With all the speculation about what happened to her, Ms. Grant has been fielding questions from everywhere and that has definitely put her in a worse mood than usual—which is really saying something."

"Perhaps I'd have a better temperament if I didn't have to wait for my latte while my assistant and former assistant gossiped about my mood."

Both women jumped when they heard their boss' voice. They turned and saw Cat coming around the corner.

"Ms. Grant!" Linda staggered. "I'm so sorry I was just heading out to get it. I wasn't expecting you in for another half an hour."

"Clearly."

"It's my fault for holding Linda up. She was just welcoming me back and making sure I was okay."

Cat shook her head. "Oh Kara, five minutes back and you're already making excuses for your replacement. Sooner or later she's going to have to sink or swim on her own. Before you get back to work I like to see you in my office for a minute." Turning back to Linda she asked. "What are you still doing here? I expect to have my latte in the next twenty minutes or even Kara's not going to be able to bail you out."

Linda pressed the elevator door and practically jumped into it when the doors opened. Cat walked to her office, followed by Kara. She took a seat behind her desk and stared at her former assistant.

Behind her, Supergirl seemed to still be the subject of all the news shows on the wall of screens and clips of her fight were replaying on several of them. One screen showed an image of J'onn holding her injured and lifeless body with the caption: _WHO IS SUPERGIRL'S MYSTERIOUS SAVIOR?_ Kara forced herself to look away and instead focus her attention on her boss.

"Ms. Grant, do you think you've maybe been a little too hard on Linda lately? She's trying her best to please you."

"This isn't t-ball Kara, I don't give out awards for effort. If Lana is going to last in this job, I expect results. But she is not my concern right now, I assume since you're here, that you made a full recovery?"

"Not quite a full recovery, but I'm much better now."

"If you're not up for working you still have several sick days."

"No I'm fine and I am anxious to get back to work. I have a lot to catch up on."

"Yes well, like I said on the phone the other day, you can disregard all my messages from the night of your accident."

"We talked on the phone?"

"Yes remember you called me a couple of days after your accident to explain why you haven't returned any of my calls."

Kara knew she'd hadn't spoken to her boss since her attack, which meant Cat had spoken to J'onn pretending to be her, which he'd neglected to mention to her. Her pulse started racing when she thought of all the ways he could have screwed things up for her at work. The last time he'd impersonated her, Cat had hired a second assistant—who later tried to kill both of them.

"Oh yeah, right. About that phone call...I was on some pretty heavy pain killers at the time and I don't really remember much of our conversation, so if I said anything crazy or out of character, I hope you'll disregard it."

Cat smiled. "Don't worry Kara, I could tell you weren't quite yourself that day."

"Thanks." But Kara didn't feel relieved, something about Cat's demeanor made her uneasy.

"Since you're okay, I won't keep you, I know you have a lot of work to catch up on and so do I, unless there was anything else you wanted."

"There is actually, I also wanted to thank you. I saw you posted my last story despite your concerns that it was not credible enough."

"Kara, have you seen the news in the last few days? The whole city watched Supergirl fight a bunch of aliens right above downtown. After witnessing that, people tend to be less skeptical about the idea that an alien could walk through walls and attack a security guard. I did not post it as a favor to you. And don't think that just because I posted that one article of yours, that I've decided to lower my standards. I expect your next story to be above reproach."

"Of course, there won't be any issues with credibility with my next story. The subject of it has plenty of witnesses to back up his claim..." She trailed off as one of the TV screens on the back wall caught her attention.

"Kara?" Cat turned to see what had distracted her. Kara was staring at one the screens in the top right corner, which at the moment was showing Supergirl throwing the helicopter rotor into the chest of one her alien attackers.

Cat quickly grabbed the remote from her desk drawer and turned off the TV, but not in time to prevent her from them seeing Supergirl kill the other alien with her heat vision.

"Kara, are you okay?"

Kara turned back to her boss and tried to plaster a smile on her face, but it was not the least bit convincing, especially considering how pale she had turned. "Yeah, I'm fine. If you don't need anything else I have a lot to do."

She didn't give her boss a chance to respond as she turned and headed out of the office. Once she thought she was clear of Cat's view, her pace quickened. She headed straight for the women's bathroom, where she burst into one of the stalls and started throwing up.

Once Kara finally finished throwing up everything in her system, she left the stall and found Cat standing by the sinks.

"I'm calling my driver to take you home."

"I'm fine. And I'm not contagious." She added, remembering her boss' phobia about getting sick. "It's just a side effect of the medicine my doctor prescribed."

That part might have been true, Hamilton did have her on several antibiotics in case her immune system was inhibited without her powers. Of course, watching herself kill two other aliens hadn't helped.

"You may not be contagious, but you're not fine. And you're no use to me in this condition."

Kara was getting pretty tired of people acting like she was helpless. It already seemed like her friends and family didn't think she was capable of taking care of herself without her powers. And now even Cat who didn't even know the true about what had happened to her was treating her like an invalid.

"You can send me home, but you can't stop me from working on my story. I'm still going to work, even if I'm at home, but I can get a lot more done at the office."

Kara hoped her determination would appeal to Cat who always prioritized work over almost everything else, but when she saw her boss' glare, she knew she'd crossed a line.

"You're right _Kiera_ I can't stop you from working on your story, but I could fire you, which wouldn't technically stop you. You could still write whatever you wanted, but it would severely limit your audience to conspiracy theories on the internet. And I'd image you might all have trouble recruiting people to be the subjects of your stories without the Catco name behind you.

"I'm sorry, I meant no disrespect. But please, I really think the best way for me to recover is to stay busy. I'm so tired of just lying around being useless."

Cat's anger softened, but her face remained stern. "Fine, but if you get sick again or give me any other indication that you are not up for staying, you're going home even if I have to have security escort you from the building."

Kara sighed. "Thank you."


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story._

* * *

After her getting sick in front of her boss, the remainder of Kara's return to work went much smoother. She spent most of the next few days hid away in her office catching up on all of her work and avoiding all the media coverage questioning "Where is Supergirl?" and "If she did survive the attack like Cat Grant claimed, why is she still missing?". The few times she did venture out of her office it was to visit Winn and James or to help Linda.

"Hey, Linda did you get that email I forwarded you about Parents' Night at Carter's school." Even though she had been promoted, a third of her inbox was still filled up with emails relating to her former assistant duties.

"Yes, thanks and I'm top of it, I'm made sure to clear her schedule after six, so she'll have plenty of time to grab dinner and get there in time," Linda said, proud of herself for getting something done without Kara's help.

Her satisfaction made Kara feel guilty because she knew she was going to have to shatter that sense of accomplishment, but it would be worse for Linda later if she didn't.

"Oh, no Linda, leaving at six is not going to give Cat nearly enough time. I know the principal's presentation doesn't start until seven-thirty, but the auditorium will start to fill up around quarter till seven and if she doesn't get a good seat she will blame you for it. Also, since Carter is spending the weekend with his dad you probably should go ahead make reservations for an early dinner tonight for him and Ms. Grant, but not Batali's his mom doesn't know, but Carter hates that places."

"Ms. Grant hasn't said anything about having dinner with her son tonight."

"No, but that doesn't mean she won't get the idea later and expect you to make reservations on ten minutes notice right before the dinner rush, better to have a place booked just in case. Don't worry, I know it's a lot to juggle, but after a while anticipating all this will just become second nature. Oh and I'm guessing Ms. Grant will come back here later tonight to work on the next issue and after she sees her ex-husband tonight she's probably not going to be in the best mood so make sure her M&Ms are well stocked, as well as her bar."

She was about to pass on more of the many lessons she learned when she was Cat's assistant when Cat called out to her. "Kara take a break from doing someone else's job and come see me."

Kara did as she was told and once she was in the office Cat got straight to the point.

"I need to meet with Supergirl."

"Supergirl?" Kara started to panic. Did Cat know who she was? She tried to focus on keeping her voice steady when she said. "I...I'm not sure how I can help you get in touch with her."

Cat stared hard at her for a second causing Kara to shift uncomfortably in her seat. "Don't sell yourself short Kara, I think you're the one person who can help me reach Supergirl."

Kara could feel her heart pounding. No this could not be happening. This was the last thing she needed.

"After all," Her boss continued. "You are dating one of her best friends."

Kara was so busy feeling relieved, it took her a minute to comprehend what Cat was asking. "Wait, this is about James? I don't understand what you need me for. If you want James to get you in touch with Supergirl, why don't you just ask him yourself?"

"I did, several days ago. I take it from the shocked look on your face that he has not mentioned this to you."

Kara shook her head, trying and failing to hide the hurt in her eyes. "No, he hasn't said a word."

"Well as you can gather, so far he has not been able to deliver. He claims that Supergirl is still recovering and is not up for any interviews. And I'm sure he believes he is protecting her, but the truth is he's not doing her any favors. You're a smart woman I'm sure you can appreciate that staying hidden is only making matters worse for her. The longer she is gone the more people are starting to believe she's never coming back. And since I haven't spoken to her myself, I can do little to discourage this belief. I have already risked Catco's reputation more than I am comfortable with by assuring the public that she's alive and recovering without anything besides anonymous sources to back up this claim."

"I'm sorry you're having to do that for her. I can't promise anything, but I'll talk to James and see what I can do."

"Thank you."

Kara got up to leave, but before she was out the door Cat said. "You know it's a shame that she won't give me a way to reach her myself. This would be so much simpler if she simply trusted me and we didn't have to go through all of this back-channeling." Then Kara walked out of the office.

...

James was going over the website layouts when Kara opened the door to his office. He smiled and got up to greet her, but when he tried to give her a quick kiss she pulled back. He frowned, taken aback by her rejection.

"Is there something wrong?" He asked.

"I just spoke to Cat." Normally that lead-in could indicate a number of problems, but James could only think of one situation that would cause Kara to be treating him with hostility. "She said that she asked for a meeting with Supergirl several days ago."

"Look I'm sorry for keeping this from you and I know you're hurt, but with everything you've been through lately, I didn't want to add to your load by making you worry about whether or not you should meet with Cat. And I didn't want you putting yourself at risk by doing an interview before you're ready."

"That is not your call to make!" She exclaimed, her voice rising with each word. "You don't get to decide for me whether or not I'm up for an interview and you had no right to hide her request from me!"

"I know. You're right and I'm sorry, but it doesn't change anything. You can't risk meeting with Cat. Even if I had told you a few days ago, it's not like you can fly up to her balcony like normal. What are you going to do come riding up the elevator dressed like Supergirl and expect her not to question why you're not using your powers?"

"No. I don't know what I'm going to do about Cat, but whatever I do, it's going to be my decision, not yours." And with those words, she strode out the door.

James knew Kara would eventually learn about Alex's role in all of this. And he'd been tempted to defend himself by explaining how she had convinced him to hide the truth, but he resisted because he felt like Alex should tell Kara about it herself. Besides Kara was already hurt and he hated to add to her pain by telling her another person she loved had lied to her.

...

Alex sat with her sister in the med bay. Doctor Hamilton sat across from them a chart in her hand. "Your blood work looks great and all your vitals look normal."

"Normal for me, you mean."

"Yes and while I don't have a large sample of your species to compare your data to, your current numbers are much closer to what the were a few weeks ago than what they were while you were in a coma."

"If I'm doing so much better then why haven't my powers returned? The last time I blew them out, they came back a couple of days later and it's been a week since you gave me Kal-El's blood."

"We can't expect your powers to return just as quickly as the last time. Your body has been through a lot and we don't know how the transfusion with your cousin's blood has affected your powers. And while I believe your powers will likely return, there are still too many unknown variables for me to predict when that will occur."

After she left Kara jumped up from her chair and turned to Alex. "Do you have a few minutes to spar with me?"

When Kara had been talking to Hamilton, Alex had picked up an edge to her sister's tone and ever since Winn had brought Kara to the DEO for her check up that afternoon, Kara had seemed distracted and frustrated. But now Alex was sure something was wrong. Kara moved with the same kind of nervous energy like she always did when she was gearing up for a big fight with a powerful enemy.

Alex chose her words carefully, not wanting to upset her sister anymore. "I don't think that's a good idea, I don't think you're quite up for training yet."

Kara groaned as she plopped back into the chair. "Come on Alex, if I'm going to be completely helpless, I might as get in some training without having to use the kryptonite room."

"You're not completely helpless."

"Really because I feel that way every time someone needs Supergirl and J'onn has to go in my place."

Alex knew Kara was more upset than she let on about nearly being killed, but Kara would not talk to her about it. It wasn't like her sister to keep her feelings so bottled up and Alex had been worried for days what would happen when they finally came to the surface.

"Look I can't imagine how hard it must be for you to not to be able to help people the way you usually do, and I know you're not used to be as frail as a human, but you can't push your body into doing things it's not ready for."

"You know I never appreciated how hard it must be to be live without powers like humans do, I mean, I know I did not have super powers on Krypton, but we were way more technologically advanced. I don't know how people survive the primitive medicine on this planet (no offense) with bodies that are so easily damaged. Earlier today I got a papercut and it really hurt, not as much touching kryptonite or a Layurus sting, but it still hurt a lot more than a tiny cut made by a flimsy sheet of paper logically should."

"Okay, I know you're new to paper cuts and how painful they can be. And I know you still dealing with the loss of your powers, but you've seemed distracted since you got here. Did something, besides getting a paper cut, happen that has made you so upset?

"Yeah kind of, you're right I'm not just upset about not having my powers. James and I got into a huge fight."

Alex felt her body tense but didn't show it. She thought back to the missed call she received from James, which she hadn't had a chance to return.

"About what?"

"Cat had asked him to set up a meeting with Supergirl, but he told her I couldn't meet without even telling me about it."

"You shouldn't blame James for that. I told him not to say anything to you."

Kara didn't say anything at first. She just stared at Alex with a betrayed expression, the same one she had when she'd first learned that Alex was a DEO agent, and when Alex had confessed that she'd killed Astra.

"Look I know you're mad at me right now, but I can live with you being mad at me. What I can't live with is something happening to you."

"We're talking about me have a conversation with my boss!" Kara snapped. "I may not up for fighting aliens right now, but I think I can handle that!"

Instead of trying to calm Kara down, Alex matched her anger with her own. Kara was not the only one who had been dealing with a lot of stress over the past several days, but she had been so worried about her sister that she'd pushed her own feelings aside.

"Really because I remember a brief conversation that you had with your boss where you let it slip that Superman is your cousin, which she shared with the whole world, which led to Reactron coming after you and nearly killing you! And that was when you had your powers!"

"That was different, I was just starting out as Supergirl and I was still learning. Besides, it's not like you don't take risk all the time without super powers."

"I'm a highly trained agent, and yes, sometimes I do take calculated risks when it's necessary, but I don't recklessly endanger myself."

"Really what about when I was attacked and you were ready to join the fight when you knew no human wouldn't survive a minute against such powerful aliens or when you came to National City during Myriad even though I told you not to come?"

"I did both of those things to protect you."

"Yeah, just like you told me to hide my powers all those years to protect me or how you told James to lie to me to protect me. I don't need you to protect me all the time! I can take care of myself!"

"It didn't seem like that last week when you were lying in a coma fighting for your life!"

As soon as she heard the words out loud she realized how harsh they sounded, even worse it sounded like she blamed her sister for getting hurt when really she blamed herself for not realizing soon enough that Kara was flying into a trap. And no matter how many people tried to convince her otherwise, deep down she knew that she had failed to protect her sister and it nearly cost Kara her life.

Alex tried to explain all of this. "Listen I don't mean it like that…"

She was interrupted by Vasquez coming in the door. "Ma'am Director Henshaw and Major Lane need to see you."

"Thank you." She said to Vasquez, then she turned back to her sister, but before she could speak Kara said,

"Go, don't worry about me. Despite what you think, I can take care of myself."

Alex hated to leave without settling their fight, but she knew she also had a duty to the DEO.

"Do you know what this about?" She asked as she followed Vasquez.

"We've located the Zarolot."


	9. Chapter 9

_Author's Notes: Thanks again to everyone who favorited, followed, and reviewed this story._

* * *

It only took about five minutes for a strike team to assemble and another fifteen for the helicopter to take them the factory where the thermal scans showed them the Zarolot was hiding. Since the Zarolot could disappear again at any moment and they didn't have any time to spare, J'onn used the helicopter ride to brief the team on the plan.

"Esposito, Gao, and Fisher will move into position first to set up a perimeter." It wouldn't prevent the Zaralot from escaping, but it was still necessary to ensure no civilians or local police accidentally wandered into their operation. "I'll go in through the front disguised as Supergirl and engage the Zarolot. While I'm keeping it distracted Jackson, Boyle, and Danvers will come in through the rear and engage the trap."

"We managed to rebuild the industrial capacitor that Livewire destroyed," Alex explained. "once activated it will absorb the Zarolot, but it needs to be within eighteen inches of the alien in order to work."

"Your weapons shoot liquid nitrogen which will stun the Zarolot, but only for between five and forty-five seconds depending on how much power it's absorbed." Henshaw continued. "Don't let it touch you. Even at their weakest Zarolots can absorb enough power from a human to stop your heart in seconds and the more power they drain from living creatures the stronger they get."

"What about you, Sir?" Boyle asked. "You're the one who's going to be engaging this thing. Can it hurt you?"

"Sure it can, but not much. One Zarolot is no match for a Green Martian, that's why I'm not going in my true form. If the Zarolot realizes it's outmatched it'll teleport out of there, so it can't know it's a trap until it's too late."

"But won't the Zarolot flee when it sees Supergirl?" Fisher asked.

"According to records salvaged from Fort Rozz, the three Zarolot prisoners are related. Assuming we're correct in our assessment that the one we're after is the female of the group—and granted it's not that easy to tell with this species, that would make the one that was killed by Supergirl her son. We believe she's may be looking to get revenge and that's why she's returned to our world."

"ETA one minute." The helicopter pilot informed him.

"Now I know, no matter your relationship with Supergirl, this is personal for all of us. She might not be a DEO agent, but she fights alongside us every day making the attack on her an attack on all of us. That said do not let anger cloud your instincts, we all want to get this alien, but I don't want to see anyone putting themselves at risk to do so." He turned his attention to Alex as he said that last part.

When the factory came into view J'onn changed into Supergirl and flew out the helicopter while the rest of the agents repelled down their lines. And once Esposito, Gao, and Fisher had the perimeter secure, he ripped the door off its hinges and flew into the building.

He spotted the Zarolot right away and he prepared himself for an attack. He knew he couldn't go on the offense because if he used his powers he'd reveal that he wasn't really Supergirl, so he planned to keep the alien busy by super speeding around the building and dodging attacks until Alex and the others were in position.

Unfortunately the Zarolot did not attack him like planned, instead, it flew into some of the machinery and the equipment sprang to life. In one horrifying instant, J'onn realized that the Zarolot was trying to overload the machinery.

"Fall back!" He yelled over his comms just as sparks started to spurt from the equipment.

A second later there was a large explosion and half the build was engulfed in flames. The force of the explosion slammed J'onn against the wall. He fell to the ground and reverted back to his Martian form.

The impact with the wall did little to hurt him, but fire was one of the few things that could actually hurt him and the nearby blaze severely weaken him.

The Zarolot teleported beside J'onn and touched his head sending pain radiating through him.

"Did you think, Martian, that I'd be fooled like the humans are by your little trick?" It asked in a mechanical sounding voice.

J'onn didn't answer but instead phased through the Zarolot stunning it slightly.

Alex came rushing in flanked by Boyle and Jackson. The three shot at the alien, but it teleported away before the cold liquid could reach it.

The alien reappeared in front Boyle where it stuck its hand through his heart. He let out a short yell before dropping to the ground. While the alien attacked their colleague Alex and Jackson triggered the trap, but it saw what they were doing and disappeared before they could get close enough.

Alex, J'onn, and the Jackson stayed on guard in case it decided to appear near one of them, but after a few seconds, it was clear that the alien had fled.

"The thermal scans are no longer picking up any signs of the Zarolot in your location." Suresh confirmed over the comms system.

Jackson picked up Boyle and thrust him over his shoulders, while Alex helped J'onn and they evacuated the building. Once they were a safe distance from the inferno, Jackson set Boyle down and started to perform CPR.

"It's too late." With his x-ray vision, J'onn could clearly see all the damage the Zarolot had done to Boyle's heart and he knew there was no coming back from that. "He's gone."

Lucy came over the comms. "NCFD has been told about the fire and is on route to your location."

"Esposito, Gao, and Fisher maintain your position and don't let anyone, but the fire department get near the building." J'onn ordered. "We'll send a car to come pick you up. The rest of you get back in the helicopter, we're going back to base."

There was nothing more they could do about the fire, and since they were a covert agency it was better if they weren't there when the firefighters arrived.

...

"Are you sure you're alright?" Alex asked J'onn after the DEO doctors had checked him out.

"I keep telling you, I'm fine." J'onn tried to reassure her, but she could see he was still in pain and she knew the fire couldn't have helped his injuries.

"You don't look fine."

"Alex, relax, it takes more than a Zarolot to get rid of me."

"I wish the same could be said for Boyle."

J'onn put a hand on her shoulder.

"We're going to get this thing for Boyle and for Kara."

When her sister's name was mentioned, Alex frowned. J'onn picked up on this and asked. "Did everything go alright with her checkup?"

"Yeah, Hamilton says she's doing great."

"Then why do you look so worried?"

"Kara and I got into a huge fight right before we found the Zarolot. Cat had asked James to meet with Supergirl, but I was scared she'd agree to it and put herself in danger if someone figured out she's alive and doesn't have her powers, so I told him not to tell Kara about it. But she found out that we kept that from her and now she's furious."

"Kara is still struggling to figure out who she is without her powers. Even though Hamilton says they'll probably come back. the truth is they may not and she knows this. Plus, she's dealing with all of this right after the city, that she normally protects, watched as she was attacked and nearly murdered."

"And I'm not helping by treating her like she's helpless without her powers."

"You almost lost your little sister; it's understandable that you'd be a little overprotective right now and Kara knows this even if she's mad. She'll come around, she can never stay mad at you for too long. And she's had some time to calm down, why don't you call her and try to apologize. "

Alex took J'onn's advice, but her call went to voicemail after two rings, telling Alex that her sister had rejected her call.

"Hey, so I guess you still don't want to talk to me and I don't blame you for being mad at me. I'm sorry I shouldn't have tried to hide things from you.

And I do think you're capable of taking care of yourself, it's not that, but I also know you. You put everybody else before yourself, just like you could have run from that fight the second you realized it was a trap, but you wouldn't risk letting anyone else getting hurt and you nearly died because of your selflessness.

That's why I worry about you so much because while you're looking out for everybody else someone needs to look out for you. And I know sometimes I go too far and I'll try to work on that, assuming you'll talk to me again.

Listen I don't like apologizing to your voicemail. If you get this message tonight, please call me. If you'll let me I'll come over and do this in person. I love you."

...

After Kara ignored her sister's call she saw she had a voicemail and even though she was still mad at her she decided to listen to Alex's message. When she heard the pain and worry in Alex's voice her anger subsided and she pressed Alex's speed dial as soon the message finished, but before the phone could ring on her sister's end she hung up.

Kara thought about what Alex said at the end of the message about wanting to meet. If she called Alex right then, her sister would surely want to come over and talk about their fight and since Kara was not at her apartment, but instead at her Catco office that complicated matters.

Kara didn't want to lie to her sister about where she was and why she couldn't meet right away (mostly because she was a terrible liar and Alex could always tell when she was deceiving her), but if she told Alex that she was at work Kara knew she would ask why she was working so late.

Maybe I should just tell her what I'm doing. Kara thought for half a second before flat out rejecting the idea. Alex would freak if she found out that Kara planned to meet with Cat as Supergirl in the next few minutes. She could already hear her sister listing all the reasons this was a bad idea. And even though Kara did have some doubts about what she was doing, she knew this was something she needed to do and she wasn't in the mood to listen to Alex try to talk her out of it.

She'd briefly considered running her idea by J'onn or even asking him to pose as her for a meeting, but she decided against it. He'd probably agree with Alex. Besides, whenever J'onn impersonated her there was always repercussion. It was better to just meet with Cat herself.

Kara had come up with her solution, earlier at the DEO after Alex had left with Vasquez, She was so angry she'd gone to talk to her mother's AI to try to calm down and that had given her an idea how she could meet with Cat even without her superpowers.

Getting ahold of the hologram communicators had been pretty easy. Her pod was equipped with a pair, she'd just never had an opportunity to use them until now. And since most of the agents were gone chasing the Zarolot and the people left behind were busy providing backup support, it had been pretty easy to take them from her ship without anyone noticing.

While Cat was at Parents' Night at Carter's school, Kara had slipped into her office and hid one of the communicators on her balcony. Even if Cat hadn't come back to the office like she expected she could just use it to contact her boss tomorrow night, but Cat had returned to work just like Kara thought she would.

She knew she'd have to talk to her sister sometime tonight and tell her about the meeting so Alex wasn't blindsided when the story was leading news tomorrow morning. But Kara decided to wait and call her after the meeting that way Alex wouldn't be able to change Kara's mind.

With her decision made Kara positioned the communicator on her desk, finished changing into her Supergirl suit and turned the Kryptonian technology on.

...

Forty miles off the coast of National City, the Zarolot was floating over the ocean recovering from the fight with the Martian when she felt a dramatic surge in energy and knew instantly that alien technology was being used somewhere in the city. The humans did not possess any kind of power source to create such a dramatic surge in energy, except of course for their nuclear bombs, but that clearly was not the cause.

It wasn't that unusual for her to sense alien technology being used, after all, she felt it all the time near the North Pole or in the desert outside of National City where the humans had build a prison for aliens, but she rarely felt it being used so close to the heart of the city.

The Zarolot wondered if this was some kind of a trap set by the humans, but her instincts told her it wasn't. The humans wouldn't want to draw her into such a populated area. No. if they were trying to catch her, they'd look for a place where they'd wouldn't have to worry about civilian casualties.

She decided to investigate and teleported towards the source power. When she did she found the technology was being used in the building belonging to Supergirl's reporter friend and she knew the Kryptonian was probably nearby.


	10. Chapter 10

_Author's Notes: So we've reached the end of the story. I know I've been saying this at the beginning of each new chapter, but I just want to reiterate my thanks to everyone who has supported this story, whether it's been by reading, reviewing, favoriting, or following, I really appreciate it. This story has been a lot of fun to write and it has also been a big time-consuming headache at times, but knowing others have enjoyed something I wrote makes all the hard work worth it._

* * *

Cat really didn't have any reason that she had to be in her office that evening. She did have a lot a work to do, but that was always the case. And her work wasn't anything that couldn't be done from home or couldn't wait until tomorrow, but since she had overheard Kara tell Linda that she expected her to return to the office after Parents' Night she had decided to follow the young woman's expectations.

She hoped that Kara would take advantage of the privacy and find a way to meet with her as Supergirl, but she wasn't sure she would. Although Cat had been right in her assumption that James Olsen had neglected to pass along her message, that didn't mean Kara would actually meet with her. After all, Supergirl was still 'recovering,' whatever that meant. It was one of the many questions she intended to ask Supergirl—if she ever showed up.

About half an hour after she returned to the office she caught a glimpse of movement outside her balcony window and turned to see Supergirl flying just past her balcony ledge. She walked out to see the hero.

"So your friends were telling the truth, you're not dead." Cat said matter-of-factly.

"Glad to see how relieved you are," Supergirl replied with a hint of sarcasm in her tone.

"Which begs the question, since you're all better, why have you been hiding out?"

"I haven't been hiding out!" She said defensively. "Not by choice, at least. I really want to return to protecting this city and being Supergirl, but I can't, not yet."

"This isn't a game of twenty questions. You can give me a straight answer. What do you mean you can't be Supergirl right now?"

"I can't explain it."

"Try," Cat commanded.

"I can't tell you why, on or off the record, not without putting you, me, and many others in danger. All I can tell you is, I'll return to being Supergirl as soon as I can."

Cat was getting frustrated. This interview was not answering any of her questions and it was only adding to her confusion. And Supergirl wasn't giving her anything she could actually report on. She decided to change the subject.

"Why were you targeted by those aliens?"

Supergirl gave her a 'you've got to be kidding me' look. "Isn't that obvious? There are some aliens who don't like me protecting this planet."

"Was that the only reason or was there something else? Some of the witnesses heard the aliens mention your mother and wanting revenge. I know you've alluded in the past that she was an important person on your home planet and since she's gone the only way to hurt her now is to go after you. Is that the real reason you were attacked?"

After a long hesitation, she said. "This interview was a mistake."

She turned to leave and Cat started to yell to stop her, but when Supergirl moved she noticed something was off with her movements. She'd seen Kara fly away many times, but this time, she moved her legs for some reason like she would if she was standing on the ground.

Before she could question her about it, the glowing alien from the ambush appeared in front of Supergirl.

"Supergirl." It said before waving a hand through her. Supergirl disappeared and reappeared and Cat realized that she wasn't really there at all and that this was some sort of projection of her. "Interesting. You're using a hologram. You've lost your powers!" The alien let out a high pitched laugh which sent a chill down Cat's spine.

"Are you willing to be your life on that?" Supergirl challenged. "The last time you tried to fight me it didn't work out too well for your friends."

The alien's features grew hard, or a least as hard as they could look considering her face looked like it was made of light.

"The Zarolot you killed was my son!"

"I'm sorry, I didn't want it to come to that."

The Zarolot disappeared, then a second later it appeared next to Cat. It reached out and touched Cat's stomach. Cat screamed in pain.

"No!" Kara yelled.

The alien removed its hand and Cat fell to her knees clutching her stomach.

"If you really do have your powers, use them to save your friend."

Supergirl appeared to run in mid-air for a second then she disappeared.

The Zarolot put its hand back to Cat's stomach causing her to feel more intense pain and remove it again.

"Where is Supergirl?!" It demanded.

Cat could barely talk she was breathing so hard, but she managed to cry out.

"I don't know!"

The alien raised its hand just above her chest ready to strike.

"I must have been too gentle before."

It reached for her again but stopped as they both heard someone running towards them. It turned just in time to be hit by a blast of white smoke. Cat jerked back feeling the cold air start to sting her skin when she did she saw Kara dressed in her Supergirl suit spraying the Zarolot with a fire extinguished.

Cat struggled to her feet, despite the pain.

"Crap you have lost your powers."

Kara focused on spraying the other alien and ordered. "Run! You have to get away from me! Find somewhere to hide and don't come out no matter what happens!"

The idea seemed pretty good to Cat and it was what her instincts were telling her to do, but part of her felt a need to stay. "What about you?"

"Just go! There's nothing you can do and I can't fight her and protect you at the same time!"

Cat wanted to argue more, but she knew the fire extinguisher was not going to hold back that creature for long and if they were going to survive this they needed help. She took Kara's advice and ran towards the stairwell, but not before grabbing her cell phone and calling James Olsen on the way. While it rang, she once again cursed the fact she didn't have a way to reach Superman directly.

When he picked up she yelled into the phone. "Supergirl is under attack in my office."

...

Cat was not the only one who thought to call for help. Kara had already beaten her to it a couple of minutes earlier. As soon as the Zarolot appeared in front of them, Kara had grabbed for phone and dialed the last number she'd called Alex's cell.

Alex had picked up the phone just in time to hear something say Kara had lost her powers. She instantly recognized the inhuman voice and knew the Zarolot was going to kill her sister if she didn't stop it.

Alex ran to the control room and shouted: "I need a trace on Supergirl's phone."

"What happened?" J'onn demanded.

Alex pushed the speaker and allowed everyone in the room to hear what she heard. Kara voice came over the phone saying something about 'it not working out too well for your friends'.

Then when the Zarolot spoke again everyone understood Alex's panic.

J'onn assumed his Martian form and flew away returning a few seconds later with one of the liquid nitrogen guns and the trap.

"Get me the location." He ordered the techs who'd already begun the task.

"You're not up for this alone."

"Alex…"

"You're still injured. No one else here knows as much about these things as me. And if she's hurt someone is going to have to get Kara to safety while you fight this thing."

J'onn thought for a minute while desperately watching the techs try to locate Kara and the Zarolot. Finally, they found something.

"I'm picking up high thermal readings at Catco." Suresh said.

"You get your sister and get away," J'onn ordered

Before Alex could even agree to his conditions, he had grabbed her and flown off.

...

Kara continued to spray the Zarolot, all the while knowing this wouldn't hold it off for long. She didn't even know her sister had answered her call or if help was on the way. When she'd changed into her suit before she hadn't been planning to use her phone, so she'd left out her earpiece She'd also realized too late that she probably should have called J'onn or Kal-El instead, since they were the only ones who could fight a Zarolot and could possibly get there in time.

Kara knew Alex would find J'onn and they'd do everything they could to save her, but she also knew that that the Zarolot could kill her before J'onn or Kal-El could get there, even if they flew at super speeds.

When she'd first run out there to confront the Zarolot, she'd thought maybe there was a chance that the adrenaline burst would trigger her powers to return. But they hadn't, just like they didn't that time she'd face an armed looter without them. She hoped at least that she could hold off the Zarolot long enough for her boss to get away.

Just like Kara thought, it wasn't long before the Zarolot managed to break out of the path of the spray and touched Kara's shoulder. Pain shot through her. She cried out and dropped the extinguisher. The alien continued to move its arm through her until it reached her heart. Kara screamed in agony and dropped to the ground. She felt her strength leaving her and she knew she was dying. But just before she could pass out from shock the Zarolot removed its hand.

"Do you think my son felt this much pain when you killed him?"

Kara didn't say anything in response. She was too weak to talk and even if she could, it wouldn't matter. No matter what she said, it was going to kill her.

It seemed to anger the Zarolot when she didn't say anything and it put its hand through Kara again this time in the lungs. Then just before Kara could suffocate, it removed its hand and Kara gasped for breath.

"I'm not going to kill you, not yet. Not until you've watched me kill your friends. I know you called the Martian. Did you know he's injured? We fought earlier tonight and I nearly killed him and when he comes to save you I'm going to finish him off and anyone with him. Then I'll kill you."

And with that knowledge to dwell on, the Zarolot tortured Kara once more.

...

When J'onn and Alex got to Catco they found Kara lying motionless on the ground with the Zarolot hovering beside her with its arm through her chest. J'onn sat Alex down and soared over to the attacker phasing through it several times until it let go of Kara. As soon as it did Alex shot it with liquid nitrogen.

The Zarolot let a loud inhuman shriek and was forced back by the liquid. But it had gained too much strength from Kara and J'onn and after it recovered from the shock it was able to teleport out of Alex's range. It reappeared right in front of her and reached for her heart, but before it could touch her J'onn flew through it and knocked her out of the way. She fell to the ground causing her to drop the gun and the remote to the trap.

J'onn picked both and ordered, "Get Supergirl out of here."

Alex ran to her sister while J'onn fought the other alien. Kara was lying so still, Alex feared they were too late. She frantically felt for a pulse and after a few gut-wrenching seconds, she felt a weak heartbeat.

Alex grabbed Kara under the arms and started to drag her to safety, but she stopped when looked back at the fight. The Zarolot flew into the gun causing the pressure inside the liquid nitrogen canister to overload. The gun exploded throwing J'onn into the air where he crashed into a desk. In an instant, the Zarolot was beside him. It pushed its hand through his heart. J'onn yelled, but he was too weak to phase through the alien.

Alex left Kara and ran to the trap and the remote which J'onn had dropped when the gun exploded. She held a finger over the open button. The Zarolot needed to be close enough for it to work and she could think of only one way to get its attention off J'onn.

"Hey." She called. "You want to get back at Supergirl for killing your son? Kill me. I'm her sister."

"You are not Kryptonian!" The Zarolot shrieked.

"No, we're not blood, but Kara Zor-El has been my family ever since she came to this planet."

The Zarolot disappeared. Alex pressed the open and waited for it to teleport beside her, but it appeared next to Kara instead. It stuck a hand through her torso causing her to jerk awake screaming.

"I will kill you after you get rid of your trap."

Kara surveyed what was going on around her and realized what the alien was telling her sister to do. "Alex no!" She cried, but she was so weak it sounded like a whisper.

The Zarolot touched Kara's head and her body started to flail like she was having a seizure.

"Alright!" Alex screamed throwing the remote and trap. There was no doubt the Zarolot would kill her now, but Kara wouldn't last much more of the Zarolot's attack. Maybe while it was busy killing her J'onn would be able to trap it and save Kara and himself.

"I watched as you killed my son, now you can watch me kill your sister." It told Kara.

What happened next went by so fast Alex only perceived about half of it. Right after the Zarolot teleported to her, Alex felt a jerk, and a second later she realized she was across the room. Kara held her by one arm and they hover a few feet above the ground. Then she felt another jerk, and she found herself on the ground. Kara had flown back to the Zarolot and was blasting it with her freeze breath. It shrank back, its light turning dull, and hovered motionlessly in place. Then Kara flew to a trap, grabbed it and the remote, returned to the Zarolot, and opened the trap which instantly sucked the alien in.

Kara flew back to Alex. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah." Alex nodded. "Are you?" Even with her powers back, Kara had endured so much from the fight that Alex was worried she might still be suffering from some lasting effects.

Kara smiled. "I am now."

Then they both turned and headed over to J'onn. He was still hurt and moaning, but he'd manage to sit up. "Are you okay?" Alex asked.

J'onn got to his feet and glared at Alex like he always didn't when she made him mad. "You were supposed to get your sister and get out."

Alex sighed, this was J'onn's way of saying he was okay. "Technically, I never had a chance to agree to those terms."

"And what about when you joined the DEO and agreed to follow my chain of command?"

Kara chuckled. "She never follows your orders."

J'onn turned his glare on Kara. "It runs in the family."

Kara ignored his anger and gave him a hug. "Thanks for coming to my rescue again."

"I think you and Alex did most of the rescuing this time."

They heard a window break behind them.

"Kara," Superman asked. "Are you okay?"

"We're fine, my powers are back. Thanks for coming, but I'm afraid you're a little late, we already caught the Zarolot."

"Sorry I wasn't here to help, I flew straight from Metropolis when Jimmy called me."

"Wait, how did James know?"

"Cat Grant called him."

"Crap! I forgot about her." She said running to find her boss.

...

Dr. Hamilton looked at the blood pressure cuff and frowned. "You're at one thirty-one over eighty-three that's little high."

"Considering I'm constantly dealing with incompetent journals, baseless libel lawsuits, a teenage son, two ex-husbands, and my mother that sound pretty good." Cat said. Then she glanced at Kara. "Besides after the nightmare of a flight, she took on it probably skyrocketed."

Once they'd found Cat, they'd decided to take her back to the DEO med bay just to double check that she wasn't seriously hurt by the Zarolot attack. J'onn had told Kara to fly fast enough that Cat wouldn't be able to tell which direction she was going.

"I did save your life tonight, remember."

"And considering you didn't have your power and nearly got yourself killed, that was incredibly stupid. The world needs Supergirl a lot more than it needs Cat Grant."

"I had my powers, I just—"

"Yeah, yeah, you weren't sure if you were up for using them, you keep insisting. And yet you fought an alien with a fire extinguisher and used alien technology to create the illusion that you were flying. Either way, I'm not flying back with you, I don't care if Agents Mulder and Scully want to take me out of here with a bag over my head."

"I wouldn't give us any ideas," Alex remarked.

"We have vehicles with blackened windows that we can use to transport you home, but we're already going against protocol allow a member of the press in here," J'onn said.

"You've hardly given me the grand tour. I haven't seen anything besides this room so far."

"And like we discussed anything you see here must stay classified or else you'll—"

"Become the latest resident of your little prison."

"Actually, I was going to say you'll be putting innocent lives at risk, but like my associate said, I wouldn't give us any ideas."

"Well despite what some might think," She glanced at Kara. "I can be trusted with a secret."

"You seem fine, Ms. Grant," Hamilton said. "But just to be certain I'd like to perform an EEG, an MRI, and a CAT scan.

"No pun intended." Kara joked, earning her an eye roll from her sister and a dirty look from her boss.

Hamilton took Cat to run the tests and J'onn left to talk to Lucy leaving the sisters alone to talk.

"Look, Alex, I'm sorry about what I said before and I'm sorry I've been so distant the last few days."

"Considering what all you've been through you're allowed to be a little distant. And it's okay if you're not ready to talk about everything, but I don't want you holding things in so I won't worry about you. You're my little sister, it's my job to look out for you and sometimes that includes worrying about you. So whenever you ready to talk, I'm here for you."

"I know, you always are and you're always looking out for me. I'm also sorry I contacted Cat even though I knew you were against it. I guess you were right...again. It was too risky."

"I may have been right about the risk, but I was still wrong to try to keep it from you. No matter what I thought about how risky it was, it was your decision to make, although I wish I'd been there to back you up, to begin with. But I guess I only have myself to blame for that one."

"Alex I love you and I don't want you to stop looking out for me, but I don't want you to worry about me so much that you forget about yourself. In your message you accused me of not looking out for myself because I'm too worried about others, but what about you. How many times have you nearly gotten yourself killed trying to protect me or J'onn or someone else? At least I'm nearly indestructible and have healing powers."

"What can I say, some of your selflessness must have rubbed off on me from living with you all of those years. Besides, healing powers are not everything. You still should probably get some time on your solar bed after all you went through with the Zarolot."

Kara rolled her eyes. "Fine, I'll agree to the solar bed if you agree to take tomorrow off to rest and recuperate after all you've been through over the last several days."

"Tomorrow, I really need to work in the lab, the liquid nitrogen wasn't as effective as we hoped it'd be and I really need to adjust my calculations and maybe look into a method that uses CO2 like the fire extinguisher."

"Alex," Kara warned. "do I need to call Eliza?"

"No!" She exclaimed.

"Good."

"You know that's a low blow."

"I'm just looking out for my sister. I guess I picked up a few of your habits from living with you. And since you're taking tomorrow off, do you want to come over and have pizza and a binge-watching marathon. I missed a lot of new episodes while I was in a coma and I think we need to do something about that."

"Glad to see your priorities are in order. Yeah, it sounds like fun."

Vasquez came running in and told Kara. "Ma'am I thought you'd want to know a convenience store robbery has just turned into a hostage crisis."

Kara looked at Alex. "I'll use the solar bed right after I get through with this."

"Don't think I won't hold you to it," Alex said as Kara flew off.

The End

* * *

 _Author's Notes: Thanks again for everything. I hope you liked it. If you have any questions or comments you're welcome to review or PM me._


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